I am Russian. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op do russians have anything against Romanians? I asked a guy once if he was Russian and I thought he was going to hit me he was so mad. Red faced, veins popping out, screaming that he was Romanian.
Why the hatred? Is there something about the history?

Not the OP but do you really know nothing at all about 20th century history? Nothing about by a Romanian would be offended by being confused for a Russian? The Romanian language is more like Italian than Russian, it's a different culture, and Romania was pulled into a horrific existence with some of the worst dictators thanks to the USSR.

Yes, Ceausescu, et al. But please, you all are not remotely italian. Your history is dripping with buckets of blood and pogroms, tribal feuds, paganism and OK, DRACULA. Don't blame USSR for that. If anything, USSR it made these bizarre activities more visible to western scrutiny after centuries of consuming people's blood, parading heads on spikes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op do russians have anything against Romanians? I asked a guy once if he was Russian and I thought he was going to hit me he was so mad. Red faced, veins popping out, screaming that he was Romanian.
Why the hatred? Is there something about the history?

Not the OP but do you really know nothing at all about 20th century history? Nothing about by a Romanian would be offended by being confused for a Russian? The Romanian language is more like Italian than Russian, it's a different culture, and Romania was pulled into a horrific existence with some of the worst dictators thanks to the USSR.

Yes, Ceausescu, et al. But please, you all are not remotely italian. Your history is dripping with buckets of blood and pogroms, tribal feuds, paganism and OK, DRACULA. Don't blame USSR for that. If anything, USSR it made these bizarre activities more visible to western scrutiny after centuries of consuming people's blood, parading heads on spikes, etc.

^^NP responding above. I am not OP...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that is interesting to me, that jews in Russia are not members of the jewish religion but were still discriminated against. I always thought the WHOLE point/origin of discriminating against jews was the religion - persecution of Jesus, charging interest on loans, involvement in banking (when christians did not charge interest).

So if you were a christian jew, why wouldn't you intermarry with other christians? and how does your face identify you as jewish? would natalie portman look jewish in Russia?

I'm a Russian Jew and I am actually going to disagree with OP on this point. Sure, some Jews in Russia baptized and became Christian, and many others aren't particularly observant, but most Russian Jews (at least the ones I know) would certainly consider themselves Jewish. Under USSR, all religious practice was essentially outlawed (not just Jewish but Christian and Muslim as well), so most people who grew up in the Soviet times were not religious. Atheism was the official position of the Soviet government (it was thought that you could not be a "proper" Communist and be religious). Now that you can practice religion, many people are going back. Persecution of Jews in USSR had more of an ethnic rather than religious feel to it.

BTW, there is no such thing as a "Christian Jew" - if you belive in Jesus Christ, you are a Christian. Not a Jew. So if you marry other Christians, it is not "intermarrying".

Have you not heard of Jews for Jesus? I knew two people who were practicing Christians who considered themselves Jewish.

[Anonymous]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_for_Jesus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me about the tsar?
Are there still people who remember him?

I'm not the OP, but the tzar was murdered in 1918. You would have to be pretty darn old to remember him. Although some people consider Putin the new tzar so...

Not the OP but I'll posit: But the elderly in Russia exist exclusively on a diet of Danon Yogurt and routinely live into their 120's. No problem.

-Brezhnev era ad-campaign

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Have you not heard of Jews for Jesus? I knew two people who were practicing Christians who considered themselves Jewish.

Yes, I have heard of Jews for Jesus. They are just Christians masquarading as Jews. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Jew. Plain and simple. Whatever they consider themselves is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting. I just heard someone say jews are an ethnicity.
Can a jew be buddhist and still jewish?
I happen to know one of those

[Anonymous]

In Russian, there are two words, "evrej" - a person with Jewish blood, and "iudej" - a person of Jewish (Judaic) faith. In a country where everyone was raised atheist, a "evrej" discovering Orthodox Christianity (once the most prevalent religion) is not that unlikely, and an entirely different phenomenon from a practicing "iudej" in the US who decides to convert.

Most progressive Russian Orthodox theologians of the 20th century (Alexander Men', for example) were marked as "Jewish" in their Soviet passports. When I mentioned this fact to an American observant Jewish friend, she said "We have been called a nation of priests. It is only fitting that we should be that even when we adopt a different religion."

Natalie Portman is not the most stereotypically Jewish-looking person, but if I saw this kid in a Russian classroom I'd have my suspicions:

http://sharepad.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/natalie-portman-childhood-13.jpg?w=645

Most Russian Jewish parents do have a preference for their offspring to marry someone of Jewish blood, preferably a Russian Jew who shares their culture. For most this includes atheism or at least a great dose of skepticism where any organized religion is concerned.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can be Christian or Buddhist or atheist and still be Jewish. Russian antisemitism had nothing to do with religion, as most Jews were atheist and some were Christian/Buddhist/whatever. My Jewish identity means a lot to me because my family members have suffered and died for it. It has nothing to do with my religion or lack thereof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:that is interesting to me, that jews in Russia are not members of the jewish religion but were still discriminated against. I always thought the WHOLE point/origin of discriminating against jews was the religion - persecution of Jesus, charging interest on loans, involvement in banking (when christians did not charge interest).

So if you were a christian jew, why wouldn't you intermarry with other christians? and how does your face identify you as jewish? would natalie portman look jewish in Russia?

I'm a Russian Jew and I am actually going to disagree with OP on this point. Sure, some Jews in Russia baptized and became Christian, and many others aren't particularly observant, but most Russian Jews (at least the ones I know) would certainly consider themselves Jewish. Under USSR, all religious practice was essentially outlawed (not just Jewish but Christian and Muslim as well), so most people who grew up in the Soviet times were not religious. Atheism was the official position of the Soviet government (it was thought that you could not be a "proper" Communist and be religious). Now that you can practice religion, many people are going back. Persecution of Jews in USSR had more of an ethnic rather than religious feel to it.

BTW, there is no such thing as a "Christian Jew" - if you belive in Jesus Christ, you are a Christian. Not a Jew. So if you marry other Christians, it is not "intermarrying".

Wrong. You can go through the process of converting to Christianity, but you can never convert out of being a Jew

[Anonymous]

For a "lighter" question- how are hockey celebrities such as Alex Ovechkin, etc, regarded in Russia?

[Anonymous]

That's absolutely wrong. If a Jew converts to another religion, he's not considered a Jew. The Orthodox Jews, for example, are required to sit "shiva", a mourning prayer, if one of their close one converts.

And FYI, Jews for Jesus are not recognized as a Judaism branch.

[Anonymous]

Do you think that Nikolai Baskov is talented? (anyone who wants to know who this Russian wonder is, search Youtube for baskov and "power of love").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Have you not heard of Jews for Jesus? I knew two people who were practicing Christians who considered themselves Jewish.

Yes, I have heard of Jews for Jesus. They are just Christians masquarading as Jews. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Jew. Plain and simple. Whatever they consider themselves is irrelevant.

Says who?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Have you not heard of Jews for Jesus? I knew two people who were practicing Christians who considered themselves Jewish.

Yes, I have heard of Jews for Jesus. They are just Christians masquarading as Jews. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Jew. Plain and simple. Whatever they consider themselves is irrelevant.

Says who?

Says the halacha (Jewish law).