[webworker]

Ptcha, and I know how to cook it, too. :)

[Geno Prussakov]

Geno - I have 2 questions for you :-)

Have you ever seen the movie Dr Zhivago? (or read the book - is it allowed?)

And do you know who Anna Anderson was?

I certainly did read Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago". Never watched the movie. Heard a lot about it though... For example, every winter dozens of men (and/or their wives) ask me for "hats like Dr. Zhivago wore in the movie".

Wasn't Anna Anderson the woman that - as many others - claimed to be Princess Anastasia (the only daughter of Nicholas II that was believed to had survived the murder of the Last Tsar's family in the Ipatievski dom)?

Geno

[Geno Prussakov]

small addition to the previous post... Of course, there is only ONE princess Anastasia and - if you haven't seen her already - you may see her here: http://forum.abestweb.com/showthread.php?t=61918 :)

[Geno Prussakov]

Ptcha, and I know how to cook it, too. :)

What is "Ptcha", webworker?!

Geno

[webworker]

>>What is "Ptcha"

It's a Russian-Jewish delicacy that's a taste-bud orgy for garlic lovers - calves foot jelly, to be exact. My paternal grandparents were from Kiev, or a small town nearby.

[Leader]

What about "The Bat" e-mail client? And Sergei Michailowitsch Brin's Google for that matter!

Never heard of "the Bat..."
As for Google, tell me about it again when they fix their algo (it MUST be broken, I'm not #1 in everything ;) )...

[Geno Prussakov]

>>What is "Ptcha"

It's a Russian-Jewish delicacy that's a taste-bud orgy for garlic lovers - calves foot jelly, to be exact. My paternal grandparents were from Kiev, or a small town nearby.

Never heard of ptcha. Good for you!

Kiev is great. I do have relatives (on my maternal grandparents line) there. Been a few times. Love it.

Geno

[SSanf]

Any way, Geno, I don't think anyone will avoid buying your products because they are Russian. If anything, they will be considered exotic and therefore more desirable.

[MichaelColey]

Mmmm, how about Chicken Kiev?

And let's not forget snow and Siberia.

Still, some of the first things I think of are the military history and spying. There's some rich Russian military history.

[Geno Prussakov]

Thank you, Sandra.

Michael, Ukrainians definitely can cook (after all, even borsch is their invention). But we have the Siberia and the snow (and we love it that way)! :)

Geno

[Ebudae]

oh, lol, I should have explained further about the 10 years. A while back the Highway Dept. here decided to expand the freeway. (which was really needed) They had a write up in the paper all about what they were going to do and the timeline.

Now here is the funny part - In the "first 5 years of the 10 year plan" they were going to expand a section and redo the overpass. In the "second 5 years of the 10 year plan" they figured the area would have grown again so they were going to tear down what had previously been done and redo it to include a bigger overpass with a "cloverleaf" kind of access.

No joke, they actually put it in print!!! I guess they figured people either would not read it or wouldn't understand what they were saying. So my famous saying in the family is something to the effect of - there is your hard earned tax dollars going to waste on the "first 5 years of the 10 year plan."

Now how does this relate to Stalin's 5 year plans? - lol, I have no idea except to say that when I think of his 5 year plans - it just makes me think of our stupid 5 year - 10 year plan.

lol, hope that makes sense - it does to me, but then again maybe I am crazy - hehe.

That is neat about you doing your paper on Stalin - he was an interesting figure in history. (but then again I love history)

I wish you could see the movie - Doctor Zhivago - and the fields of daffodils - simply beautiful! Yes, I fell in love with the fur hats from watching it - someday I hope to have one.

Anna Anderson - yes, she claimed to be Princess Anastasia. I always wondered if the people there had any knowledge of her. They did do DNA and ruled it wasn't the princess - but there are those who do not believe the findings. At any rate, another interesting person/story.

[Ebudae]

No, that question have nothing to do with business.

So he should have ask: When you hear "Russian goods", what comes first to your mind?


The point being - he is getting us to thinking about ways to promote his goods.

By knowing the products, the culture, the "sterotypes" - it helps us all to think about how to sell. What would we say, what would people think, etc..

For myself, this forum has been one I am enjoying very much! And it makes me want to do more (which I plan on doing as soon as my updates on other sites are finished)

An added bonus is that we get to know one another more. And our affiliate manager gets to know us too.

It's all good.

[Geno Prussakov]

Ebudae,

Thank you so much for your participation and your feedback! I am sure they are helpful to all of us. Thanks again. :approval:

Geno

[webworker]

thinking about ways to promote his goods. It's gotten me to thinking about food, even the background color makes me crave chocolate. When I get my car from the shop Monday I'll head over to the store to get the ingredients to make Russian Cabbage Borscht - YUM!! That'll be something to share if there's a thread with Russian recipes. :)

Actually, I like the name including "Legacy" because it's a reminder that most everyone has some ethnic group or nationality (or region - like American South or New England) that's a precious heritage/legacy and there's a richness of culture when they're preserved and shared amongst people. It's people who make a culture and a society - it's politicians who make politics, not "the people." People make friends.

That sharing includes food - ethnic cooking is a hobby of mine and I've collected recipes from friends and neighbors from so many different backgrounds over the years - Phillipines, Italy, Jewish, Mexican, Israeli, middle-eastern, Chinese, etc It's one of the most fun things I've ever done, especially when I've lived in apartment buildings with neighbors from the 4 corners of the earth - literally (and everyone got along fine). Heritage and culture also include literature, music and art - especially folk art that goes back centuries.

Actually, I did get to thinking and started an "ethnic" section on a site. So many sites say "unique gifts" but how unique are they when everyone's doing Red Envelope? It isn't easy to find stuff that really is unique, so it's nice to find something that actually is.

[SSanf]

Personally, I get a little tired of the thought police and the PC police trying to tell us all where, when and if we can talk about and discuss our ideas.

Hey! This is America, ain't it?

UH..... well, maybe not. :confused2

[Geno Prussakov]

Personally, I get a little tired of the thought police and the PC police trying to tell us all where, when and if we can talk about and discuss our ideas.

Hey! This is America, ain't it?

Sandra, did you mean to post this here? If so, what relation does this have to stereotypes about things Russian (and Russia)?

Geno

[Geno Prussakov]

It's gotten me to thinking about food, even the background color makes me crave chocolate. When I get my car from the shop Monday I'll head over to the store to get the ingredients to make Russian Cabbage Borscht - YUM!! That'll be something to share if there's a thread with Russian recipes. :)

Open one here (in this forum)! Be my guest!! :approval: After all, is there a better place for it? I promise to contribute to it!

Actually, I did get to thinking and started an "ethnic" section on a site. So many sites say "unique gifts" but how unique are they when everyone's doing Red Envelope? It isn't easy to find stuff that really is unique, so it's nice to find something that actually is.

Thank you, webworker. Looking forward to your sales...

Geno

[SSanf]

Yeah, I was still responding to Mr Sal who annoyed me a tad bit. Also, trying to be cute which, I guess, didn't work.

Well, I can't hit them all, I guess. :joke:

[Dynamoo]

There's a phrase "Сегодня нет" - which I guess literally means "not today". I believe often used in the context of restaurants or wanting to buy something.. but it's a much more subtle phrase that really expands to "Today, we don't have this. There is always a vague possibility that we might have it tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it".

Compare this with the more upbeat "mañana mañana" in Spanish :)

I've found that Russians tend to have a very dark sense of humour, which is something that the British can relate to very well... it's much closer to the British sense of humour than it is to the American sense of humor.

Churchill once said of Russia: "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Any serious analysis of Russia could really fill a dissertation trying to piece it all together!

But if we stick to sterotypes.. well, they're not meant to be accurate, really just snapshots. So... fur hats, vodka, Red Square, queues, Gagarin, Ladas, the Winter Palace, borsch, blini & schi, Lenin's tomb, Yeltsin on a tank, the Great Patriotic War, GUM, MiGs, samovars, Faberge eggs, sporting events, Siberia, cyrillic text, Orthodox church. The list could go on and on :)

[Geno Prussakov]

...borsch, blini & schi, Lenin's tomb, Yeltsin on a tank...

How about the dancing Yeltsin (in his pre-election campaign)?! :super:

For those of you who haven't seen it, here we go:

http://www.johnmonty.com/cotw/yeltsin2.jpg

...and a couple more here: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=dancing+yeltsin&btnG=Search

Have a great and prosperous week, everyone! :) :) :)

Geno

[Neil]

this made me laugh..
Have you ever seen the movie Dr Zhivago? (or read the book - is it allowed?)

you know they have Mc Donald's and satellite TV.

when you say Russia,
I think of beautiful woman and vodka.
I have forgotten about commies, but i have been to Russia so its different for me.
if you have not been, i can understand the reaction.

as for televisions blowing up ??
it is my belief that many Russian products are better than western brands.
The education in Russia is one of the best in the world,
they have advanced technology in medicine and science,
much better than the British or Americans.
what they lack is the business sense to market there goods
and are held back by the west from exporting a much better brand.
also they need to learn marketing,
this is all because
they have not long come out into the open world.
and the first thing they wanted as consumers was foreign products,
so the Russian goods, though i think are better quality have been pushed back...
so when you say Russia !!!
i think a sleeping consumer giant that will soon be awake. popcorn

[Ebudae]

this made me laugh..

Quote:
Have you ever seen the movie Dr Zhivago? (or read the book - is it allowed?)


you know they have Mc Donald's and satellite TV.



yes, I know. But I also know some books were banned in Russia - and perhaps still are.



Found this on the web:

Dr Zhivago, first published in the West in 1958, was banned in Russia for more than three decades for upsetting communist sensitivities.

Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958 but had to turn it down because of protests in his home country.

Doctor Zhivago was not published in Russia until 1988 and Pasternak was posthumously recognised for writing a masterpiece. He died in 1960.

So you see - it was banned and I was not sure how easy it was to get the book.

And I can tell you this - when I would send packages to Moscow, there was a LONG list of things now allowed.

[holm_off]

Never heard of "ptcha" too. Сalves foot jelly - "holodecz".

[Geno Prussakov]

But I also know some books were banned in Russia - and perhaps still are.

Ebudae, most everything (apart from books supporting and promoting fascism, extremism, porn, etc) is allowed now (since the break-up of the Soviet Union)... Even pornography is allowed, but only in "specialized stores".

Geno

[Geno Prussakov]

Never heard of "ptcha" too. Сalves foot jelly - "holodecz".

Correct. The Russian name for the "calves foot jelly" is "kholodetz". Maybe "ptcha" is the Jewish name? I don't know...

Geno