Was that Russian girl for real? Has anyone been to Russia lately? Pensions remain unpaid. Public servants may or may not get paid. They cannot afford to properly decommission some very dangerous military hardware. Crime, mugging, prostitution, corruption, are endemic. For most it's a God almighty struggle to live. And she whines because the average Brit is not discussing Jane Austen all the time! And, many, hundreds, thousands, millions of Russian girls seek a Western European husband, can't leave soon enough. Russia collapsed because of it's economic system and is now reaping the reward of its appalling inefficiency. And Putin is fast becoming an old style Russian dictator. Damn cheek!!
Yes, I agree with you, Rothgar. I don't very often hear myself think, "Well go back there, then, if it's so great". Silly woman.
Mafia and gangsters with loads o'money for the posh shops and the rest living in one room with no space to swing a cat. My friend's husband is Russian, living back in Moscow at the moment, and despite being loaded with teaching, translating and business qualifications and having a "good" job involving those skills, his meagre salary means he has to share a tiny room - for sleeping and living in - with his ageing father. The kitchen is so small you can't have two of you there without standing sideways.
It's not so different from the days when you had to queue for chicken feet and cabbage. Except that now the rich are really rich.
Silly girl but some have always had this misplaced superiority complex. Things are vey slowly getting better in macro terms - inflation is just less than 10% and growth 10% - 15% but the widening gap between the poor and the rich and super rich doesn't bode well. Housing is pretty dire and delapidated and overcrowded. Still, they can merrily prattle about Dostoevsky whereas we can only be moronic about Arsenal.
I was completely shocked that a book like that could even be published. I am from New Zealand and every day think how great it is here. Sure loads of things are 'different' but not better or worse just different. The British people are very tolerant, too tolerant they should have put that woman straight on a plane home.
Originally posted by Sweet Marie: Yes, I agree with you, Rothgar. I don't very often hear myself think, "Well go back there, then, if it's so great". Silly woman.
I was waiting for someone to ask the killer question "Why are you here if you don't like it?" but nobody did
What a stupid woman that Russian is – if she doesn’t like the way things are done here – then she should go back to her beloved country and stay there, instead of staying here and moaning. All she has done is to write a book about these “problems” – and hopes to make money from it. No doubt, she’ll enjoy her 15 minutes of fame (she certainly doesn’t deserve more) – and revel in the money she might make from it. We have enough problems in this country without her presence.
Roman Abramovich reminds me of Chauncy Gardiner in that Peter Sellers movie Being There - that inane little grin on his face all the time. Eminently slappable.
Originally posted by Javert: What a stupid woman that Russian is – if she doesn’t like the way things are done here – then she should go back to her beloved country and stay there, instead of staying here and moaning. All she has done is to write a book about these “problems” – and hopes to make money from it. No doubt, she’ll enjoy her 15 minutes of fame (she certainly doesn’t deserve more) – and revel in the money she might make from it. We have enough problems in this country without her presence.
I probably read the Guardian more than something like the Daily Mail, but I think Olga should seriously think about why she lives here now she is making cash out of giving us a good slating.
I probably read the Guardian more than something like the Daily Mail, but I think Olga should seriously think about why she lives here now she is making cash out of giving us a good slating.
And then they'll acknowledge that, strictly speaking, xenophobia is a form of prejudice, so the separate mention of prejudice is superfluous. Then they'll blow stale garlic in your face and walk away.
Originally posted by diggettydawg: And then they'll acknowledge that, strictly speaking, xenophobia is a form of prejudice, so the separate mention of prejudice is superfluous. Then they'll blow stale garlic in your face and walk away.
If you read previous threads you will see that I am quoting.
Originally posted by diggettydawg: And then they'll acknowledge that, strictly speaking, xenophobia is a form of prejudice, so the separate mention of prejudice is superfluous. Then they'll blow stale garlic in your face and walk away.
If you read previous threads you will see that I am quoting.
And if you read my post more carefully you'll see I'm not poking fun at you.
Originally posted by diggettydawg: And then they'll acknowledge that, strictly speaking, xenophobia is a form of prejudice, so the separate mention of prejudice is superfluous. Then they'll blow stale garlic in your face and walk away.
If you read previous threads you will see that I am quoting.
And if you read my post more carefully you'll see I'm not poking fun at you.
Odd he hasn't acknowledged that yet, Diggy! Seemed obvious to me.
Thank God other people thought the same as I did. My husband works with Russians and visits there often, it has a lot of problems. Very expensive hotels, bad food, no plugs for sinks, great poverty, bad health care if you don't have the money,mafia style gangs and NOT everyone goes to university like she said. She is obviously from a rich family. They still send people to labour camps for writing things they don't agree with. Perhaps we should do the same to her. All the way through the interview I was shouting "If you don't like it here go back and take all the other obnoxious Russians living here with you.
