Russian fashion, names and cartoons: why do foreigners love Russia?

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

On the eve of Russia Day, German media published a rating of the most beautiful Russian names. Trend or coincidence?

On the eve of today's holiday - the Day of Russia - the German magazine Superweib has published an extraordinary rating. The reviewers of the publication compiled the Top 10 most beautiful names, but not German, as one might assume, but Russian.

According to the publication, of the female names popular in our country, the most euphonious are Alina, Polina, Daria, Mila and Victoria, and among the male names - Alexei, Nikolai, Maxim, Vadim and Nikita.

In principle, in what names the journalists have chosen, preferences associated with the peculiarities of the German language are quite clearly visible. As philologists joke, even if the light and fluttering word "butterfly" in your language sounds like "schmetterling", you will probably like short, euphonious words with a simple alternation of vowels and consonants, without any diphthongs and stuns.

However, something else is more remarkable here. This material and the very approach to it demonstrate an extremely humane view of Russians.

Such a view of Russia and its inhabitants is rather an exception to the rule for the modern Western press. Objectification of Russians is still the norm: positive reviews about our people are often associated with references to nuclear reactors, weapons, tanks, and special forces. And there is nothing to say about the quantity and quality of the negative.

However, there are no rules without exceptions. Over the past year, foreigners have repeatedly admired the Russian people and their achievements, which have nothing to do with the war, the construction of huge bridges and icebreakers, and are extremely far from the cult triad "bears - vodka - balalaika".

French fashion yesterday, Russian tomorrow?

Since 2017, the Russian style has clearly begun to gain popularity in the fashion industry. A group of Russian designers managed to become very famous in narrow but influential circles.

The first on Russian things, surprisingly, fell for Japanese dudes. They were followed by the rich from Saudi Arabia, who turned out to be close to the Byzantine motifs used by our designers. Later, the first Russian brand, VASSA, entered the American market. Everything was already there in an adult way: a show for buyers and journalists of fashion publications in one of the most prestigious hotels in New York - Four Seasons, the signing of contracts.

However, Russian fashion is still the lot of a small circle of aesthetes, exotic for the regulars of expensive boutiques. What can not be said for sure … about Russian cartoons. In 2012, the triumphant promotion of the animated series "Masha and the Bear" by the animation studio "Animaccord" began on the international platforms. Initially, the series, translated into foreign languages, were distributed through the iTunes and Google Play applications; then streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon were willing to broadcast the series on their platforms.

By the way, the story of a mischievous girl and a bear with an endless supply of patience was most loved in Germany. A large number of books, magazines, educational toys based on the cartoon are sold in the country. According to experts, German parents are very impressed by the image of a good-natured bear, who sometimes gets very tired of the child's tricks, but never breaks off aggression on his little ward and is always ready to help in a difficult situation.

In early June, it became known that another Russian animated series, Return to Prostokvashino, was set off to conquer the international market.

Representatives of Soyuzmultfilm announced that they are negotiating the rental of the animated series in China and intend to present it on the animation market in Annecy (France). The company also noted that some Eastern European countries are showing interest in buying the cartoon, but reaching agreements is hampered by the fact that customers would like to purchase about 30 episodes, and so far only 15 have been made.

Russian meme instead of a British joke

However, the promotion of most goods on the market is largely a marketing issue, which may not directly correlate with the attitude of foreigners towards us. After all, in Russia, too, quite a few people drive Fords, but this does not mean that they are all in love with the American dream.

What is really significant in this regard is the story of Russian Internet humor. In August 2018, an epidemic of Russian memes swept over English-language social networks. It started with a resident of Boston with the nickname Cortney (Cortney). A 22-year-old American woman posted on her Twitter a selection of photojams and humorous pictures of various Russian amateur inventions, providing her with a rhetorical question: "How do you like this, Elon Musk?"

The appeal to one of the main newsmakers of the English-speaking world in an entourage of strange, unexpected, and at times frankly idiotic "know-how" delighted many Americans. In the first few days, the phrase And how do you like this, Elon Musk? has been retweeted nearly 25,000 times. For comparison, the average most popular tweet of Donald Trump for the same time is gaining about 10 thousand shares.

Courtney soon found followers. A resident of the British city of Leeds registered the Russian Memes United page, where he began to acquaint the English-speaking public with Russian network humor. In February of this year, the number of jokes finally turned into quality: Musk appreciated the "meme named for himself" and began to respond in Russian to users who contact him with a demonstration of the next technical "miracles".

Remembering ancestors

The trend towards Russianness was also supported by many celebrities who publicly declared their close ties with Russia and ethnic Russians. It's not only about the "tax Russian" Gerard Depardieu, the honorary Chechen Steven Seagal, the mixed martial arts fighter and the Moscow Region deputy Jeff Monson, the Olympic short track champion Victor Ana, the boxer Roy Jones Jr., the Brazilian footballer Mario Fernandez and the idol of girls of the 90s, Natalya Oreiro, who have already asked for Russian passports. Among other things, celebrities began to talk about internal relations with our country, who did not (at least not yet) have either Russian citizenship or business on Russian territory.

In September last year, in the midst of yet another Russophobic campaign, inflated by Western politicians and the media in connection with the "poisoning" of the Skripals, the Italian actress Ornella Muti made an ethnic come-out.

All these statements, as well as Russian memes now plying the global network, can be considered a very kind and positive sign. And that's why. Any propaganda husk, as you know, sooner or later is weeded out and flies off, but normal human relations remain. This is exactly what will happen to the “Russian world”. Because in the modern world, sincere interest, respect of people for each other, openness to communication and interaction must - simply must be stronger than any propaganda.

So - Happy Holidays to all those who consider themselves involved in it! In Russia itself and abroad.

Victoria Fomenko