Where do the stereotypes about Russian women come from and where is the truth?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Luxury, furs and sequins: everyone seems to have a clear idea of the Russian woman and her tastes. Where do stereotypes come from, and how do they relate to reality? Let's try to establish the truth.

Daria Boll-Palievskaya prepared well. “Today I was in Moscow and especially for our conversation was looking for women in high heels,” she says. "I haven't met one." A native of Russia, Germanist Boll-Palievskaya is an instructor in intercultural communication and editor of the online newspaper Russland.news. She wrote a small useful book called “Russian women. A look from the inside and outside. " In it, Boll-Palievskaya contrasts the facts with the ideas about Russian women widespread throughout the world.

There are not only many stereotypes, pompous fantasies and dubious prejudices - they are also distinguished by a striking ambivalence, writes Boll-Palievskaya. Russian women are tall Amazons with high cheekbones or puffy matrons with thick calves. They wear revealing miniskirts and plunging necklines or floor-length woolen skirts and flowered scarves. "They are called Natasha, and they are easy to get on the Internet," or "they have golden teeth, they are called grandmothers, they are born as KGB officers."

There are no other women such ossified ideas as about Russians

There are probably not as many stereotypes about any other women in the world as about Russian women. Unless a sensual Frenchwoman gives birth to equally impressive images - however, only a Russian woman can be considered a real phenomenon. “For me, the question is, first of all, how the clichés coincide with reality,” explains Boll-Palievskaya. A Russian woman who not only takes care of herself, but also regularly dresses up to go out - in this, at least, there really is some truth.

But on the streets of St. Petersburg and Moscow today you no longer meet women, even on the ice proudly walking on 24-centimeter heels, in fur coats tightly tightened with a belt at the waist and with acrylic nails of a thick red color. “But the need to be beautiful is still characteristic of many Russian women,” says Boll-Palievskaya. "It's just that their understanding of beauty has become broader and more open."

Recently, she traveled to her hometown and herself saw Muscovites hurrying down to the gold-decorated metro stations in flat-soled shoes, loose coats, comfortable pullovers, and jeans. And yet, Russians still attach special importance to their appearance, even though it has changed, it has become somewhat calmer. This self-awareness contrasts strongly with Russian culture, which paints completely different female images.

In classical Russian literature, a woman's appearance practically does not play a role

In folklore, for example, in fairy tales known to the whole world, there are not so many beautiful and fragile princesses in the center of attention. Women's images are more often "distinguished by special wisdom and skill," writes Boll-Palievskaya. In many tales, Vasilisa the Wise appears, who gives wise instructions, such as "the morning is wiser than the evening." In classical Russian literature, a woman's appearance practically does not play a role. "Be it Dostoevsky or Tolstoy, Turgenev or Goncharov, Russian writers rarely sang the beauty of their female characters, much more often their inner wealth and spirituality."

There is a frequently repeated, albeit very crude, explanation for the fact that it was in the twentieth century that a Russian woman moved away from these ideals. He really should not be ignored, the author of the book believes: "Russia in its mournful history has often suffered from a lack of men."Revolution, civil wars, World Wars I and II, Stalinist purges, the war in Afghanistan, conflicts with Chechnya - each time a huge number of men disappeared, and women remained.

Women are afraid of being left without a man

“Many mothers pass on the fear of being left without a man to their daughters. This anxiety forms the idea of a kind of “market for brides” in which a Russian woman needs to break through.”Moreover, one should like it at first sight, with beauty and grace, and not from the second, thanks to charm and intellect. These judgments are supported by the still thriving business of marriage According to Boll-Palievskaya, “Russian women are taught there that many men in the world have nothing else to do but wait for beautiful Russian women,” who then, in order to match this image, are young and try to be especially attractive, spectacular, interesting.

Moscow is reacting to this with the Moscow Longevity project. "The idea is to take more active care of the elderly residents and residents of the capital," explains Vladimir Filippov, deputy head of the Moscow Department of Culture, "and to show young people that age brings many positive things." In addition to classes and master classes where Muscovites can learn a new foreign language or devote time to sports and hobbies, they are looking for a way to get around the pursuit of youth with the help of fashion.

Russia and the world of fashion: something is changing

“During the Fashion Week in Russia, we supported eight brands, which released a total of ten models over the age of 60 on the catwalk,” says Filippov.

After the event, the city administration together with the National Chamber of Fashion - the Russian Fashion Council - organized the Stylish Age festival, designed to teach style to the older generation. “We see that it is the women in our project that pay a lot of attention to their appearance, clothes and makeup, so they really listen to the advice of stylists and fashion journalists.”

The fact that in Russia the interest in cosmetics and clothing is especially great - Vladimir Filippov calls Moscow “the fifth capital of fashion” after Paris, Milan, London and New York - was really noticeable at Russian Fashion Week. At Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia, the main sponsor of which, as in many other cities, is the German automaker, all places for guests were taken without exception. Visitors everywhere praised each other's outfits and were even more willing to accept compliments and take selfies.

High heels and short skirts are becoming less common

But what the designers presented there a few months ago, as well as what is sold in stores, in fact, has nothing to do with the notorious spectacular style, allegedly inherent in Russian women. “Russian women in high heels and short skirts still exist, but today they are a minority,” says Alexander Arutyunov, who presented a collection under his own name at Moscow Fashion Week. "Russian women are now wearing more sporty and loose-fitting clothes."

Designer Alena Akhmadullina, during the show of her collection, outlined the situation in a similar way: “Many Russian women today like the minimalist style,” she says. “But there are still women who spend out-of-the-box amounts on furs and gold jewelry.”

Most likely, Alena Akhmadullina and Alexander Arutyunov will not like anything like that. Both designers, of course, use colored furs, expensive fabrics, embroidery, patterns in their collections. But Arutyunov offers a more modern free silhouette, while Akhmadullina sets fashionable accents with straight leather coats. The clichés about Russian women absolutely do not match any of the collections. Alena Akhmadullina, in her own words, loves symbolic Russian images: this season, her prints and embroideries, for example, retell the plot of the Russian fairy tale "The Fox and the Cat". Alexander Arutyunov took up the topic of the country as a space power. “In creating this collection, I was inspired by the cosmonautics of the Soviet Union,” he says.

Sports style is much more popular than before

However, designer ideas are one thing, and life outside of fashion shows is another. But even here, at least in the capital of Russia, one cannot find stereotypes. Muscovites in coats and flat shoes stroll the luxurious streets of the city. In the Siberia-Siberia restaurant, women with discreet rings on their fingers chase dishes of a new interpretation of Siberian cuisine across a plate: game carpaccio with juniper, veal tongue with sweet tomatoes, marinated fish on a frozen salad. At Garage, they contemplate contemporary art in their culottes and bulky hi-tech sneakers, loosely draped over their shoulders with a thick woolen scarf, casually clutching an oversized clutch under their armpits. At least some of the women attending Fashion Week were surprised by this.

“Sportswear is held in high esteem here, and streetwear is very youthful and simple,” says Chize Taguchi, who writes for Harper's Bazaar Japan in London. "I was counting on a more conservative, very feminine style, but here I meet it at best among older Muscovites."

Laura Pitcher from the American i-D magazine also hoped for super feminine dresses, luxury and sequins. “But at fashion shows and on the streets of Moscow, I saw a style that truly transcends accepted boundaries,” she says.

“There are certainly glamorous evening gowns and rather daring mini dresses and high heels,” says Shweta Gandhi of Indian Vogue. "But they only rarely flicker among a huge number of practical down jackets and everyday woolen coats."

Apparently, Russian women still spend a lot of money on beautiful clothes

None of the fashion journalists could see the unwillingness to be involved in modern fashion, the gray gloom, in which German women are often reproached. And although the contents of their shopping bags have changed, Russian women definitely still spend a lot of money on pretty things. Most of the items from his space collection, Alexander Arutyunov, according to him, sells in Russia, and his colleague Alena Akhmadullina generally calls the figure 90%. “Russian women love to spend money,” she says.

Daria Boll-Palievskaya only partially agrees with this. “The question is not whether Russians really spend more money than people in other countries, but what their priorities are,” she said. Russians want to make the most of the uncertainty of their time: nice clothes, expensive cars, good food, expensive opera tickets. "The economic crisis a few years ago did not pass without leaving a trace in Russia," explains Boll-Palievskaya, "but restaurants and theaters in Moscow, nevertheless, were always full of people."

Cash savings play a secondary role

Savings, insurance, investment in retirement - all of this plays a secondary role in Russia. “After all, Russians could never rely on the future. They live here and now, because no one knows what will happen tomorrow,”says Boll-Palievskaya. The history of the country is full of cataclysms, conflicts, hardships. It was the Soviet era, as an era of total scarcity, that created the stereotype of a Russian woman who dyes too much and with all her might, with half a sin, achieves attention, wearing T-shirts pasted over with rhinestones and bold over the knee boots.

In the days of three styles of dresses, reproduced in millions, poorly applied but bright makeup was ultimately the only opportunity for individuality. “The Soviet woman did not have enough money. Therefore, every time I had to spit on the ancient mascara to use it,”writes Boll-Palievskaya in her book. And the barely visible results the Russian woman supplemented with especially catchy clothes, if she could afford it.

Russian society as a whole is complex

It was like that before. But in many countries they have not yet realized that Russian women have long ago got rid of this style. The Russian woman is still spoken of as an exotic plant of a special, different class. “Russian society as a whole is complex. This is a huge, very multifaceted country, - says Daria Boll-Palievskaya. “So such legends also arise because the Russian society, and at the same time the Russian woman, is impossible to comprehend.”

For over 17 years working as a trainer in intercultural communication and advising German enterprises that are going to conquer the Russian market, Daria Boll-Palievskaya now and then hears the same phrase: "I did not imagine it at all." And in ordinary life she is often told: "Oh, you are from Russia, but you do not look like Russian at all!" Daria Boll-Palievskaya became convinced that stereotypes and prejudices are a double-edged sword.

“The common perception of German women in Russia is not very flattering either,” she says. "Germans allegedly do not attach much importance to their appearance, they are, to put it mildly, not particularly feminine and attractive." However, it is already rumored that not all German women go out into the street with a disheveled tail, pulling on a knitted sweater with their own hands and thrusting their feet into birkenstocks. At least in Germany.