20 Post-Soviet Things that Are Weird for a Foreigner
Caramelized milk
You can find caramelized milk among the baking ingredients on supermarket shelves in many countries, but it tastes and smells completely differently from the condensed milk that was boiled for three hours in a pot and then had to be cleaned from every surface in the kitchen because it exploded when you were distracted for a mere moment by the European Cup finals.
Sit down before a journey
Our ancient, national superstition says that if all the members of a noisy family sit and stay silent for a minute before leaving, they will have a good trip. And it makes sense because in that sacred moment, they can mystically realise that the passports are on the couch, the tickets are in the bathroom, and the kid is wearing skates instead of mittens.
Knock on wood
It is known that everyone is surrounded by big-eared evil spirits, whose business is to destroy all dreams. As soon as they hear that someone wants to buy a horse cheap, or to marry off their daughter auspiciously, they scramble to raise the prices or spoil the girl, just to spoil everything. That’s why in many countries smart people, when foolishly expressing their plans aloud, would immediately knock on wood. Wood scares the devils, even the druids knew that, but today, many nations have lost this useful skill. But we knocked and we will continue to knock!
Bath besom
Looking more like a tool for torture rather than pleasure, this batch of twigs with dry leaves is a much more distinctive symbol of our country than the originally French ballet or, for example, black caviar, which is widely exported by Iran and Canada. Many nations have baths and saunas. But only we have the besom.
Birch sap
You can find birches in many countries, but only in a few of them people drink birch sap. Maybe the reason is some special gene that allows us to sense the sweet, barely perceptible, plywood after-taste, which is so delicious in childhood?
Kvass
Although drinks similar to kvass first appeared in Mesopotamia, today you’ll find no kvass in the Middle East. But it is a popular drink in post-Soviet countries. Only beware of the scoundrels who sell ‘sparkling kvass-like drinks’; they should be drowned in their production!
Sunflower seed
It is a mystery how eating seeds of sunflowers became an ancient national tradition, although this flower was only brought to the country two hundred years ago. Traditionally, the seed is eaten in-shell, with hulling being a ritual activity during social interaction.
Old New Year
While Europe switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in the late 16th century, Russia waited until the early 20th century. The Orthodox Church refused to take part in this disgrace. It wouldn’t be a big deal (all the Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, after all), but in Russia there also was an atheistic revolution, which dumped Christmas in the dustbin of History and made New Year the main holiday, transferring to it all the trappings of Christmas - the tree, the fairy-lights, and the gifts of the Magi.
As a result, the Russians now enjoy three festive holiday weeks, starting with Catholic Christmas and ending with the slightly melancholic Old, New Year’s Day, which sounds like a contradiction in terms, but exists nevertheless.
Avoska
The name of the string bag, which was popular in the Soviet Union, translates as ‘perhaps-bag’. There were regular shortages of certain foods then, and it was convenient to carry a string bag, just in case you ‘perhaps’ saw something interesting being sold on your way home from work.
Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal has good adsorption properties and is widely used for treating food poisonings. While in the West pharmacologists and marketing managers sell it ‘under coverage’ and it most often looks like a white capsule or a suspension, in Russia it is sold as coarse black pills of intimidating appearance, which blacken your fingers and mouth. But it helps!
‘What? Where? When?’ and KVN
There are more TV quiz shows and contests than you can possibly watch. But only two of them are original projects, not bought as a franchise. And they are the best and most popular.
Colouring eggs with onion skins
Of course, it all comes from poverty. Russian peasants had no money to buy gold foil or honey paints to colour eggs for Easter, so they used what they had in plenty – onion skins. By attaching parsley leaves or threads of cotton to the eggs in the process they created lively designs. An egg long boiled in onion skins has a bright colour and a special flavor and taste.
Tea glass holders
In times when glass was ridiculously expensive, glass holders were widespread in many countries as protection for the fragile expensive glass. But when glass became cheap, humanity said farewell to glass holders.
This happened everywhere but in one very big country. There people had to travel in trains for very long periods. And they’ve been drinking tea on the train, since drinking tea is a national tradition in this country. And a tea glass holder is an essential thing on the train, since it provides stability in a shaking carriage. You can still have tea served in nice metal glass holders on Russian Railways.
Buckwheat
Buckwheat porridge is overwhelmingly popular in Russia and some other post-Soviet countries, while the Japanese and Chinese use buckwheat in noodles. Other nations usually find its taste weird, and nutritionists have found an explanation for this. They say that you have to get used to buckwheat in childhood, otherwise you’ll find it bitter with a chemical aftertaste.
Doors that open inwards
There is a legend that in the Soviet Union, doors in apartments opened inwards in order to make it easier for the KGB to smash them down during arrests, but it’s just a legend. Such construction is usual for Northern regions. If there is a chance that during the night, you might get two meters of snow on your porch, you understand very quickly how the door should be installed if you want to get out of the house before spring comes.
Brine
It’s not easy to find natural cucumber brine these days. Supermarkets are full of pickles, but not brine. Meanwhile, every Russian knows that brine is the best treatment for hangover. It’s a mystery why we haven’t established export lines for this magic remedy yet.
March 8 and February 23
Initially, these holidays were dedicated to women’s emancipation and the Red Army accordingly. But over time, they became our main gender holidays, the Women’s Day, and the Men’s Day. They can be compared to the Japanese Boys’ and Girls’ Days, but they celebrate all ages, not just children. As a result, we congratulate every woman, even those who hate emancipation, and every man, even those who have dodged military service.
Zelyonka
Zelyonka, or brilliant green antiseptic, actually translates as ‘green stuff’. In Russia it is known as a magic remedy and used on every wound and scratch. Dozens of miraculous bottles fly away from Moscow airports to Russian immigrants all over the world. Western doctors have already learned to distinguish Russian children by green spots on their bodies. And as soon as they’ve learned this, they raised a fuss, because it turned out that the green solution is a dangerous mix with unproved effect. But Russian mothers believe it works and continue painting their children green no matter what Western doctors say.
Cedar nuts
If you want to have these nuts in every citizen’s meal, you’ll need thousands of square kilometers of coniferous forest in your country. Cedar nuts can’t be grown industrially. Russia exports them, but they are not consumed on a mass scale abroad. And that’s unfortunate because these nuts are the healthiest!
Sources: maximonline, http://www.adme.ru/zhizn-nostalgiya/25-sovetskih-veschej-o-kotoryh-ne-slyshali-za-granicej-677305/
Photos by: Anton Novoselov, Neil Girling, Alexander, Lilia, Todd Van Hoosear, Leszek Kozlowski, yoppy, Adam Baker, Usman Malik, Alex Naanou, Carbonair Environmental Services Inc, Denis Kostylev, paukrus, Victoria Vasilieva, gadgetgirl, Heaven Ice Day, Maria Nikitina (Creative Commons Public License)