What does the world think of Russian culture? ‘Gateway to Russia’ readers reply…!
Recently, we asked both our foreign and Russian-speaking readers the following:
Who/What do you think is the most famous Russian … ?
- writer
- musician
- artist
- city
- artifact, souvenir or item
And here are the results!
1. The main writer for Russians is Pushkin; for foreigners, it’s Dostoevsky!
Among Russians, Alexander Pushkin holds an undisputed lead. Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy were mentioned less frequently. For foreigners, Dostoevsky takes first place, followed by Tolstoy and Pushkin.
Foreigners also named Mikhail Bulgakov, Maxim Gorky and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, while Russians named Anton Chekhov, Sergei Yesenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Lermontov and Bulgakov.
2. The main composer for everyone is Tchaikovsky!
The author of ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Swan Lake’ emerged as the absolute leader and that is understandable. Today, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s works are still staged on stages all over the world.
Russians also named Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitri Shostakovich and Modest Mussorgsky, while foreigners pleasantly surprised us with the names of Aleksandr Borodin and Mikhail Glinka.
3. The main artist – undetermined!
This category had the widest range of opinions. Among Russians, Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin and Ivan Aivazovsky lead, with Viktor Vasnetsov and Valentin Serov also mentioned frequently. Foreigners noted Wassily Kandinsky, Kazemir Malevich and sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, who lived in the U.S. for many years.
4. The most famous Russian city is, of course, Moscow, but not only!
It’s obvious that the capital leads, followed confidently by the northern and "cultural capital" of St. Petersburg. Russians also named Volgograd, while foreigners distinguished themselves with their knowledge of Tula, Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod.
5. The ‘Matryoshka’ doll is the main souvenir!
Surprisingly, vodka and the ‘ushanka’ hat remained somewhere at the end of the list. The top three for both Russians and foreigners were the ‘matryoshka’ doll, the ‘balalaika’ string instrument and the ‘samovar’ tea kettle. Foreigners also named the Tula ‘priyanik’ (gingerbread) and Palekh caskets.