Russian Story

my pretty colleague, Katya Grebenshchnikova
planes and tanks of the Great Patriotic War (world war 2 as we know it) . This park is just a 3-minute walk from my apartment.


Novorsibirski Geroi (Novosibirsk heroes)


“It’s a story during the time of USSR,” Katya explained to me (as if it wasn’t obvious), as we queued towards the exit. “Do you know anything about Russian history?” she asked.
Shamefaced, I shook my head. I did not know a lot about Russian history except from the movies I saw, and the news that I watched on TV while growing up. I have never even finished reading War and Peace or opened the book Anna Karenina. “Russian people are required to read all the classics,” she told me.

“You mean you’ve read War and Peace, The Brother Karamazov, Onegin?” I asked incredulously. I was imagining the thick volumes of required reading Russian kids had to finish.

Katya nodded, “Of course.”

“And how was it?” I remember that Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo were discussed and quizzed back in high school, but now I only have a vague memory of the books that are considered classic Filipino works and the depiction of our history.

“I like it, almost all of it,” Katya replied sincerely.

“You really liked it? Even if your teacher didn’t ask you to read it?” I had to be clear about this because from where I come from, reading the classics is not one of the to-do-list of young people.

“Yes, I read some of it more than once,” she replied casually, as if we were talking about Harry Potter instead of Russian literature.

I was left gaping.

“Russians like to read, and Russians read Russian.” Katya said proudly.

And so it seems that Katya was part of the majority and not an exemption. I’ve spoken to many young Russians during my stay and all the time they left me amazed, impressed, and also ashamed that they take their history, and Russian classics as a part of their identity and not merely relics of their past. They told me their heroes were the brave men from history who fought in wars to defend Mother Russia. The bronzed statues of hometown heroes are part of the itinerary when they show the tourists around the city because they are sincerely proud of these brave men long gone.

I remember walking down the main avenue of Krasny Prospekt one afternoon with my friend Andre and a Brasilian friend and all I wanted was to arrive to the bus stop so we could sit inside a martshrutka taxi (Russian version of the Philippine FX service vehicle) after walking 2 kms. But Andre was enthusiastic to play the local guide and kept showing the sights and explaining their history. When we were just 10 minutes from the Richnoi Vakzal bus stop, we passed by a statue located in the middle of Krasny Prospekt, placed in the center of an island. Andre slowed our pace and pointed to the statue. “Do you know who he is?” he asked.

The longer I was in Russia, the more stupid I felt for not reading and memorizing Russian History (a.k.a. “Before Putin was President”)
“No, I don’t know him,” I replied.
“Ahhhh, he’s the first Russian ace who downed a German fighter palne during the Great Patriotic War (that’s how they call WWII), and he’s also a son of Novosibirsk,” Andre explained.
A son of Novosibirsk. When have I ever heard someone call Jose Rizal a son of Calamba Laguna with so much pride?

Upon reflection, which I don’t do a lot lately, I know Russia is far from being described as a happy or even immigrant friendly country, and the vast land can really be harsh to less resilient people. But even with those factors and more, I can say that the Russians really know their history, have a strong sense of identity and pride in being Russians, and they love their language. There is no confusing hybrid of Renglish or Russian-English for these people. They probably produce the cheapest and biggest volumes of books I have seen in a developing country—all written in Russian, with people actually reading them beyond the classroom.