Perhaps the most challenging cultural difference I’ve had to grapple with since coming to Russia has been the prioritization of supervision and safety ahead of privacy. This isn’t something that just applies to interpersonal interactions- it influences the way dorms and grocery stores are set up. In my first blog post I talked a bit about how the university cafeterias are only partially self-service – any hot food must be served to you by a member of the staff. I once actually saw one of my classmates attempt to take his own food, for which he was berated. Now it seems that this cafeteria structure is an extension of what I’ve observed in so many other establishments in Russia.
Before our group left for Siberia we had to drop off our large pieces of luggage at our professors’ apartment, and in order to get our luggage off campus we had to acquire exit forms for our luggage. This struck me as irritating and unnecessary- the logic behind requiring paperwork to bring things in seems sound to me from a security standpoint, but what good does it do anybody to make bringing things out more difficult? I was later told that this was a measure to prevent theft, but I’m still skeptical regarding its effectiveness. While we were checking out, the dezhurnaya kept asking questions and would not fill out the exit cards until we had answered them to her satisfaction. When were we leaving? Tomorrow? Then why were we taking our bags out tonight? Where would we be taking our bags? Where would we be staying after we left? She wasn’t being mean, and I got the feeling she was also asking these questions out of genuine interest, however it felt strange to be asked so many questions just to take our bags out.
Many small grocery stores and almost all kiosks are set up so that a single cashier controls all movement of product. If you want something you have to ask for it and specify exactly what you want, which can be very intimidating for someone learning Russian as a second language. I remember being at a small grocery shop and ordering flavored chips. The ones I wanted were plainly visible, however the cashier couldn’t find them and simply selected another. This set up makes sense as an anti-theft measure, but I must admit I did avoid ordering from many goods kiosks and small stores because of how off-putting the whole experience was to me.
I can’t say if the extra layer of security and supervision actually prevents theft but I can definitely see how it would act as a deterrent. Still, it was one thing with which I was never able to get fully comfortable.
