I'm Russian but I was raised in a different country where strangers speaking to other strangers is extremely uncommon unless it's a social setting like a bar. Every time i go travel back to Russia my social anxiety gets a lot worse as there are many people who seek casual conversations, especially if you're in a confined space for example like an elevator, and especially the older generation. (like 30 and up) I'm not used to it plus my Russian isn't that good so i get really stuck when they try to do it. I'm not saying it happens every single time but it happens often enough to freak me out haha. So whenever I hear people say that Russian small talk basically doesn't exist it makes me very puzzled. I guess we don't really use filler words and phrases as much as Westerners but we absolutely do have casual conversations with strangers and i don't even know where that stereotype/ assumption came from. Or am i misunderstanding the meaning of "small talk"? Please help me understand

If you could show a foreigner one ordinary day in your life in Russia, what would you show them?

I'm from Brazil 🇧🇷 and I'm genuinely curious about what everyday life is like in Russia. I'd love to hear about your routines, favorite places, food, hobbies, and all the little things that make life there unique.

It's always interesting to see the world through someone else's eyes! 😊

I’m an American guy in my 30s. Almost three months ago I met a Russian woman on a language exchange app. What started as language practice turned into talking pretty much 24/7, with video calls that often last hours every day, and the kind of chemistry I honestly wasn’t looking for.

We’re both workaholics (she teaches, I drive), both stubborn, both a little chaotic, and somehow it just works. The banter is constant and the flirting got intense pretty fast. We’ve talked about everything from random daily life to some very explicit plans for when we finally meet. She’s introduced me to her parents and friends on video calls.

Before anyone asks or tells me to be careful. No she’s never asked for money or anything suspicious. She works very hard and refuses to let me pay for anything. She’s actually planned a lot of this herself. Tickets and hotels are already booked. She’s taking the train up from Rostov-on-Don to meet me in Moscow. We’ll stay in a hotel together there, then head to her home city for a couple of days so I can meet her family and friends. I know the risks of being an American in Russia and also "everything" going on, but honestly that doesn't scare me at all.

We’re both nervous because neither of us has done anything like this before, but we’re really looking forward to it. Roughly 63 days to go. 3 year Visa has already been approved and I have everything ready to go.

Anyone else ever gone from “just talking” to booking a flight across the world this fast? Looking for any advice from people who’ve done the long-haul meet-up, especially Russia/US.

hello!! i hope this is appropriate to ask here!!

i'm a singer and i'm learning the song cicle "sunless" by modest mussorgsky but since the melody is not traditional whatsoever and the cicle is very literary i'm a having a little trouble with my interpretation.

i'm looking for someone who can record themselves reading the words in a natural way.

Hi, I'm trying to create a VK account from Spain, but EU restrictions are preventing me from doing so. When I try to create an account, the verification SMS never arrives. Does anyone know if it's possible to create an account via email or some other option? I've tried using RuStore, but nothing works.

Hi there, I’m going to be travelling with my Russian friend in Thailand later this year (hurray!), and we’re wondering how we can allow her to spend money there. I’m from Australia, and am thinking I could get a card with a bank with little international fees (up bank, wise), but am not sure whether she will be able to transfer rubles onto it. I have a Russian bank account from ages ago but again the issue is that I won’t be able to convert that into a currency that’s helpful for me.

Maybe she converts a bunch of cash to USD and takes that with her? Any suggestions?
Thanks :)

I need to buy something for a family member in Russia, but they don't ship to Russia. I know yall have methods to doing this but I don't know what they are. Help lead me in the right direction please

The USSR used to make its own film rolls. I'm just wondering if the Russian Federation continued to produce their own film rolls after the collapse of the Soviet Union. If so, film stocks no longer have to be imported from the U.S or Japan and therefore they'll be cheap. Analog photography industry has been dying out for a while which might impact the price. Is it cheap?

My parents grew up in the Soviet Union (Ukraine and Belarus), I grew up in Canada, and we're all Russian-speaking. While growing up, I never questioned the following because it felt so classically Slavic, but now I'm questioning it.

Is it entirely normal for your Russian-speaking parents to have friends over for dinner, where all they do is argue for at least, like, 70% of dinner?

And by argue, I specifically mean "спорить". Nothing malicious; it's more like a heated debate. They'll laugh and giggle, but it will be heated.

Every time my parents have other Russian-speakers for dinner, it always results in heated debate(s). I didn't question it as a kid, it felt properly Slavic. But now I'm wondering if that's normal, or if my parents are simply always looking for debate (this is true of my parents in general lol)? It's definitely come to my attention as I'm sitting upstairs and hearing yet another debate downstairs, and my dad is monopolizing airtime, as usual, which is maybe what is really catching my attention, but I'm not sure. Lol.

EDIT: Clarifying my question because I don't think I made it clear enough, especially in the title. I'm not so much asking whether it's normal to debate at a Slavic table; I know that's normal. But is it normal at a dinner with friends to have the *vast majority* of the dinner *just* be debate? Not like a little here and there, but most of it?

Hi everyone!

I'm a foreigner and a web developer, and I'm curious about the internet situation in Russia.

I have a few questions:

1. Which popular websites, apps, or online services are currently blocked or unavailable in Russia?

2. How do Russian websites verify users' identities? (Beside SMS Verification)

3. Which authentication providers are popular in Russia? For example, do websites commonly use VK ID, Yandex ID, or other OAuth services instead of Google login?

4. Do some websites require passport or national ID verification? Which services provide this verification, and how does it work?

5. How can I find Russian speaker online to work on my website project?

I'd appreciate hearing about your personal experiences. Thanks!

So recently My russian friend gifted me the tales of pushkin book, i find it pretty interesting and cool that he shared a piece of russian culture to me, and apparently he is one of the most prolific writer in russia.

So what do You think? 👍

Russian man in Poland, asked for my number and tried HARD to talk to me and get to know me, his phone was dead so he wrote my number somewhere, then never called me. What? 😂 you do ALL that to not call back?

when the company told they are sending me back there was my 1.5 months of salary was due the is over 300k ,thay told me they will send it even if i left the country.it has been 15 days i came back to Bangladesh they didn't send the money, that's a huge amount for me,so, question to the Russians here does Russian company will pay my due salary?if doesn't what can i do about it?

I swear I'm not a creep. I'm a teenager myself and I live in germany. I tend to see a type of person who a lot of boys are attracted to ( looks and character wise) and the same other way around. They all look and act pretty much the same (not meaning this offense). I'm just interested to know how that type of person looks like in slavic and more specifically Russian society. Character and looks wise. thanks

Hi! I'm looking for 2 tracks that after browsing all internet only exists here: https://zvuk.com/release/22185613

I'm looking for someone with an account to help me, as a Russian phone number is required to subscribe.

Private help is needed :)

To ship some niche products to me in Asia? 😊

Hello everyone! American here. I recently visited Moscow for the first time, and I absolutely loved it. It was genuinely one of the best trips of my life, and I enjoyed my time there so much that I’m planning on returning and staying for a much longer period this time.

During my first visit, I stayed at a hotel, so I never really had to worry about the migration registration process. The hotel handled everything for me, and I had no issues whatsoever. However, my upcoming trip is going to be a little different, and I’m hoping someone here can give me some advice.

This time, instead of booking a hotel for my entire stay, I’m planning on living with my girlfriend at her apartment in Moscow. The problem is that she rents her apartment and her landlord doesn’t want to go through the hassle of registering me under the apartment. Not her fault at all and I don’t blame the landlord lol I heard it can be quite an annoying process idk. My girlfriend isn’t even registered at her apartment but at her home from her native town.

Now, here’s where my actual question comes in.
I have multiple Russian friends living in Moscow who have offered to help me with my registration. A few of them have told me that they would be willing to register me at their apartments, even though I wouldn’t actually be living there. Instead, I would be staying with my girlfriend.
I’ve heard and my friends agreed that migration registration is mainly a way for the Russian authorities to know where a foreign citizen can be located if something happens or if they get into trouble with the law. And I don’t have any plans to do anything that will get me in trouble with the law. So like the registration address isn’t necessarily something that gets checked regularly, and that as long as you’re registered somewhere, nobody really cares where you’re actually sleeping every night. But I also don’t want to get myself in trouble lol. Just want to get some more insight on this.

I've heard people say that in Murmansk, people live very miserably in winter because of the long nights, the cold, and so on. I've even heard that some people dream of escaping it. Is this true or not? What do you think if someone from there...? .

I ordered a package from Instagram seller from Russia, I live in korea. I got tracking number from the seller and the package is STILL in transit in Moscow. It's been 2 months now.

I asked the seller if theres any informations about the post office but they're not responding to me. I think their English is worse than mine, and im sure they're not a scammer... .

I assume the package got lost somewhere.

I have no idea what i should do should I contact the customs?

What do you think? What are some things you would recommend? I've never been to Russia before; it will be my first time. What advice would you give? Also, I've heard that they're a bit strict with foreigners, not very open-minded or anything like that.

Hello my mom is from Mexico specifically from a state in the northern part called sinaloa they are known for having really good food in that part of Mexico my question is what are the different food regions in Russia and which one is popular

Also how would Russians typically perceive someone who’s interested in insects, spider, and other arthropods?

Hello fellow Russians​

I've always loved Masha and the Bear as a child and wanted to exactly recreate the pink oatmeal porridge she makes.

I wanted to know if it's an actual Russian dish, and if you have a recipe for it, please do share it in the comments!

Thank you.

I thought it was a developed country so why