Russians - Rich in Culture

As we have observed and listened to people over the past few weeks we have been impressed at how talented the Russian people are in terms of their cultural heritage. At the weekend we attended a church conference/retreat with Les and Debbie. There were about 80 in attendance. This is the church that Les and Debbie attend. On the Saturday evening the people put on a concert. For well over two hours there was non-stop entertainment with singing, skits, dramas, guitar playing, keyboard presentations, poems and more. The singing of the Russian people is really beautiful. The group that came to the retreat from Omsk (8 hours to the south-west by train) sang a bracket of songs which was so inspirational. Winter looms large in the lives of people from Siberia. They are proud of the fact that they can conquer such harsh winters. Some of their songs and skits reflect thoughts about the seasons. A skit that was presented had to do with a bird, a bear and a wolf, with the bird (thinking it was Spring) waking up the bear that had been in hibernation for the winter.




With long winters the Russians have traditionally emphasized music in their culture. The Opera House in Novosibirsk (the largest in Russia) is closed for the summer, so we won't be able to take in ballet, for which the people here are famed. But there is a continuous circus, and tonight we are taking the kids to the circus.

As the retreat progressed more and more people tried to talk with us. So many of them can speak English - and good English. Several of them are teachers of English and they have come to know the Lord by coming in contact with missionaries from Europe and North America who have wanted to learn Russian.

The Russians are also a talented people in driving on the roads! Cars drive on the right hand side of the road and the steering wheel is on the left. Or so we thought! It seems that one out of every three cars has the steering wheel on the right. This is because many cars have been imported from Japan and there seems to be no control on having to convert the cars for driving on the other side of the road. Thus drivers seem to be very skilled and there are few accidents. Apart from that drivers have to be skilled in dodging pedestrians (as pedestrians don't have the right of way) and potholes. The hard winters result in many potholes. Every so often you see a deep sink hole, and there is no warning sign, or barrier, to mark that the sink hole is there.

The public image of Russians is a quiet, reserved and glum people. On entering the Metro, or a bus, no one seems to smile, talk, or react in any way. People look straight ahead and mind their own business. This seems to be a legacy from the communist era when everyone was suspicious of everyone else, fearing that you might be informed upon. This has produced a people that seemingly are indifferent and sad - until you really get to know them. It takes time to get to know them and build up confidence. Missionaries need a lot of patience and prayer as they get to know Russians and build up relationships to give them an opportunity to present the gospel of Jesus Christ.