Xenophobe's Guide to Russians

The Xenophobe's Guide

by Vladimir Zhelvis

Highlights the unique character and behavior of the nation. Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

Genres: Russia, Travel, Cultural, Nonfiction, Humor

63 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kim Leandersson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like this series, but this one is far too old to be interesting. A lot of what is mentioned is simply not true any more since Russia and Russians have changed a lot during the 10+ years since the book was written.

Sure, there are some funny parts, so still interesting to read. But fact wise i would definitely go for another book.

[Jurga · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two Xenophobes guides for Russia: the newer one (this here, by V.Zhelvis, yrs 2001, 2011) and the older one (not listed in Goodreads, by E. Roberts, yr. 1993), hence the confusion in the reviews. Book by E.Roberts is funnier, some insights are really great, some are stereotypes very typical for the foreigners who have lived for some time in Russia but have never really understood many things), but the book is much outdated. The newer book by V. Zhelvis is boring and (unusually so for Xenophobes guides) is obviously trying to make things look nicer than they are in reality. Therefore, my evaluation is for both books - neither is great.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to be in Russia for 6 weeks very soon!

So, I read this. And yeah, I'm fairly sure this isn't exactly the best book to read. I'm better off trying to read Pushkin, I think.

Nevertheless, I found this very short book nice. It was published in 2001 which means that it is very likely that much of it is irrelevant and yet, I still found it interesting. I know many people who left Russia in the late nineties. This book is a pretty good representation of them.

All in all, short yet eye opening. Here's hoping for best!

This feels like a good place to write some predictions for my trip. So here I am, breaking out of conventional review form for this:

In Israel, Russians always think I'm Russian. However, I have an American accent and can't stop smiling and abusing small talk. The friend I'm traveling with has less of a Russian look, but also has less of an American vibe. How will this influence our experience?

My guess is that I will get along well with grandmothers, even with the language barrier. I might be leaning too much on my experiences in the Czech Republic and Serbia but yes, Eastern grandmothers are amazing, especially since I am confused 97% of the time. I think I'll appreciate nice old ladies implying that I need to dress warmer.

I think politics will be an interesting thing, surely Israelis and Russians can bond over being slandered in Western media? I'd love to talk about Syria but yeah, not sure when that opportunity will arise. I realize that everywhere says that politics is a taboo but the internet said that about Serbia as well and everyone seemed very enthusiastic to talk about Kosovo. So yeah, I predict that politics will come up with young people. Not at the beginning, but I can't imagine having a long conversation with someone without this coming up.

I'm a little terrified of traveling in less organized countries. I kind of feel like this is a barrier that I've got to overcome because most of the world isn't Germany and it's good to grow comfortable with new things. So, I predict I will be more stressed than my friend, that I will be anxious for at least the first few weeks, especially when things go a little wrong. But my impression of the world is that kindness exists and I do believe it'll work itself out. I think I'll be surprised by how organized Moscow is but also by how unorganized Siberia is.

I predict that I'll eventually annoy someone by criticizing Russia. If I don't befriend someone from the queer community, I'll be slightly disappointed. I think I'll get drunk less than people assume, despite having such a shitty tolerance to alcohol.

What I'm Taking With Me
- My ex-girlfriend was Russian and found it hilarious that I want to go to Russia.
- I'm looking forward to seeing what's it like to be a vegetarian there.
- Can we talk about how Cyrillic is much easier to read than Arabic but also harder than I had assumed? The vowel sounds are killing me and if I won't read fluently by the end of my trip, I will be incredibly disappointed.

[chhaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Az orosz szokásokkal és közhelyekkel kevésbé vagyok képben, így a könyvecske java része számomra érdekes újdonság volt. Kivétel volt talán az alkohol (vodka!), az orosz irodalom és még néhány apróság, ezeknél örvendtem, hogy azért mégis tudok valamicskét. Nem volt viszont pozitív élmény a számos vicc és anekdota, amik az oroszokkal kapcsolatos hiányos ismereteim miatt nem mindig voltak érthetőek, a magyarázat viszont elmaradt. (Különben is, milyen dolog lenne viccet magyarázni?)

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though the book is quite outdated, it is spot on! If somebody outside of Russia wanted to have an idea about how people live there, I would definitely recommend to read this book, it covers all the main issues. Plus, it's very funny - at least, for someone who has spent a lot of time in Russia :)

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. It's out of date, yes, and some pieces of humour were out of date too, but whatever. As I understand the book was written in the end of the 90s and more or less it's okay for those time, but not for 2016. If you want some more up to date information about Russians, read a book by a Finnish journalist Anna-Lena ;)

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This satire was laying around the Peace Corps lounge. I did not read this book to learn how to become more xenophobic as one person was mistaken.

[randomperson123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining read! I laughed a lot.

[Nova Syzygy]

So I'm in Tallinn right now, 6/16/2019. I was just wandering around the city when I found a tiny bookstore. Most of the books there were in Estonian. I do not know Estonian. But I decided to see what was there, because I do know Russian. There, in a tiny, dusty corner is a rickety shelf filled with books in English. Most of them are exactly what you'd expect--dumb thrillers, random mass-market paperbacks, even a few George R. R. Martin books. But then I hit gold. I found the weird books. And this just happened to be there on that shelf, along with guides on the Swedes, Japanese, and Italians. This book only cost 2 euro!
I bought it. And now I have it.
Yay! (?)

[Rook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book for letter X for Alphabet Challenge.
Didn't realize this was written in 2001, until quite late.
Obviously it didn't hold up to test of time. But what this book was trying to do, and considering when it was written, it did manage to achieve it's goal. The stereotyping bugged me a bit, and I would've liked it to incorporate more about Asiatic Russian culture

[Serjious Tsiulinsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though the book is republished in 2018, its content fully refers to 90s which is far too old

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More worth reading now than ever. With especially critical insights from the madhouse that was mid-1990s Russia.

[Kamen Parishkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

If anything, Bulgarians are very similar to Russians. However, it's a very boring read, probably it would be mind-blowing for westerners to read it.

[Smita Magar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Xenophobe's Guide which is not a secret. So, this book, we bought it when we were travelling in Hereford, on our way to Hay-On-Wye: the book village. Of course, we finished in one sitting and laughed throughout.
This is the first time when Tim read a whole book to me. The reading (listening for me, mostly) became the best because we would go back to some witty and funny sentences and paragraphs so that we could laugh again and again. Many times, we also discussed the scenarios, people and the perceptions.
This book makes us feel 'not so afraid or suspicious' of Russians as it is in American films.