Money from Pharaoh's guards

Russians love Egypt, and always did. They often choose to have a holiday in Egypt. Beautiful sea, wonderful sun, but Russians seem to love Egyptian culture as well. Many Russian women got married with Egyptian men and live happily under the African sun. There are even whole ” Russian towns” in Hurghada. But not only Egyptian nature, Egyptian style is presented in Russian culture as well.
In architecture of St.-Petersburg "the Egyptian style" is one of the defining and most mysterious attributes of a city on Neva, sphinxes on University quay became long ago one of the basic symbols of the city. These lions and griffins seem to be very important for female residents and tourists of Petersburg. They often come to pat the griffins and ask them for… money! There is a popular belief, that they can help, if you ask them. And Russians are so superstitious sometimes!

Even 2-3 years ago there were problems in Russia with internet connection. Most of people used dial-up modems only. And it was especially difficult to get any connection in small towns. The situation changed dramatically nowadays. Russian people cant imagine their life without world web now. Only in small villages there is still no internet connection. Big cities and small towns have ‘stream’, ‘carbina’, ‘domolink’ and lots of other cable networks.

The stereotypical understanding is that Russia is a faraway, snowy country, where one must wear a furcoat and valenki (felt boots), people do nothing but drink vodka and play balalaikas, while bears are leaving their forest homes to go walking down village streets. However, the reality of our life is very far from this idyllic myth: balalaikas, bears, and felt boots have more or less become symbols of Russia rather than attributes of everyday life.

Life in European or American countries is more stable and predictable than in Russia. It is not the main reason but one of the reasons why Russian beautiful girls leave Russia. You get tired of unstability and unpredictability. You want to live and not to worry what you will live on in several years. The standard of living in Russia for many average people is less than in other developed countries.

A Russian woman doesn't often lead the life she is worth of. And the fact that she contrives to remain the WOMAN in such conditions really does her credit.

In the 1960s the then General Secretary N.S.Khrushchov in compliance with the agricultural programm in Russia began to grant private citizens six hundred square meters plot on lease in collective orchards. Such a plot was called "dacha" (a country house). In the 1990s dachas turned from a place for rest into a major means of surviving - people then were more like farmers than amateur gardeners. For most people a dacha is a place to grow vegetables, fruit, berries...

The economic situation has been slightly changing in the country since the late 90s. And gradually dachas have been turning into a place for a rest...

Many people in Russia have datchas - summer country cottages. Russians like such houses because of the countryside, in which they are situated, fresh air and no city noise. People plant vegetables, potatoes and greens there. Near every house there is a kitchen-garden and a small orchard. There is usually no running water in such houses, but many people build russian baths.

I live in a small town near Moscow. Small – for us, Russians. It’s not a regional center, just a town-satellite of Moscow. It’s situated in 10 km from our capital and there live 200000 people there.
The house, in which I live, is just an ordinary 5-storeyed block of flats. Near our block there are 2-storeyed houses, built after the Second World War. The blocks are rather old, flats are not very big ones, mostly two-roomed and a kitchen, without an underground parking station. But I still prefer to stay in my house, because in Moscow people mostly live in skyscrapers, without any trees nearby.