-23 C and counting... :(

grego said:
morb - have you read/seen gorky park??

the descriptions/images are exactly how I imagine moscow.

Scoobs, i disagree because I feel the conotation between Moscow/Russia and cold weather are more embedded in the historical failings of particularly Napoleon and Hitler to conquer Russia via its western front.

cold war to me means isolation, ideology, political tension, STAR wars, nuclear threat, and later the effects of glasnost and perestrokia.

cold weather in russia for me conjures up images of the nazis getting it wrong and half their army turning into ice statues:lol:
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I agree with what you're saying, and that may also be a factor in the image, but I would also argue that your average Brit/American probably knows very little about either of those two events, but will clearly remember being told that Russia/USSR was a bad place full of miserable people ;)
 
Scoobie said:
your average Brit/American probably knows very little about either of those two events, but will clearly remember being told that Russia/USSR was a bad place full of miserable people ;)
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understand your point but not with you 100%..........i doubt whether people will know the detailed facts about those events but i think more than we'd imagine would have come across a "western european psycho loses winter battle against russia" scenario (clearly WWII being the most common example).

i think that history in general has a bigger impact on shaping our sterotypes than we actually think. so i agree people would have been lead to believe cold war USSR was full of bad people but i think behind that there is also the fact that Britain and Russia have only ever been allies of convenience (e.g. triple entente WWI) and the ethnic, cultural differences are greater than with other european states. (biggest link was between queen vic and tsar nicholas II)

morbyd - btw just for clarification, is russia a bad place full of miserable people;) :lol: :lol:
 
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grego said:
understand your point but not with you 100%..........i doubt whether people will know the detailed facts about those events but i think more than we'd imagine would have come across a "western european psycho loses winter battle against russia" scenario (clearly WWII being the most common example).

i think that history in general has a bigger impact on shaping our sterotypes than we actually think. so i agree people would have been lead to believe cold war USSR was full of bad people but i think behind that there is also the fact that Britain and Russia have only ever been allies of convenience (e.g. triple entente WWI) and the ethnic, cultural differences are greater than with other european states. (biggest link was between queen vic and tsar nicholas II)

morbyd - btw just for clarification, is russia a bad place full of miserable people;) :lol: :lol:
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I agree with you, but still say that you are still overestimating the (woeful) standard of history knowledge/teaching in the UK. I would bet Mr joe Average wouldn't even know 95% of the history between the two countries.
 
Scoobie said:
Cripes! didn't realise we had naming and shaming 8O :lol:
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It's nothing more than a witchhunt and public lynching 8O :lol:

(right I'd best discreetly disappear from this thread before I join Stuie with a referral :? :lol: )
 
Morbyd said:
I've seen -30 (plus or minus a couple of degrees) a few times in different places and it's never pleasant. I can't quite imagine -55.

Colorado sounds like a much better option, Bri. Do you get much time on the slopes?

Congrats on the Broncos win, by the way. The Skins fought valiantly but couldn't overcome the Seattle juggernaut.
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I am trying to go up as many times as possible without a season pass. It's a lot more expensive this way, but it gives me the freedom to go wherever I want. I am probably going to go on Saturday for the 3rd weekend in a row.

Thanks for the congrats on the Broncos win. They have been fighting hard this year, and hopefully, they can get to the Super Bowl.

Washington looked like they were going to be the 6 seed that would upset the 1 seed this year for sure, but they had a really good year.
 
Scoobie said:
I agree with what you're saying, and that may also be a factor in the image, but I would also argue that your average Brit/American probably knows very little about either of those two events, but will clearly remember being told that Russia/USSR was a bad place full of miserable people ;)
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Yep... that's the line of bull we grew up hearing. Then, after 1991, it was replaced by the equally eroneous notion that the mafia runs the whole country.:roll:

The misperceptions, or perhaps more accurately, the bias through which Russia is often judged is quite annoying (especially in the press).

Grego - to answer your question, it's no worse and full of no more miseravle people than anywhere else :lol: I think you're wrong about the historic differences between Russia and England, though. There's always been a see-saw between good links (the related royals) and rivalry (the Great Game in Central Asia). Interesting tidbit to illustrate the cultural ties that once were: a train station in Russian is called a "voksal", as in Vauxhall.

One thing people don't get wrong, though, is that it can sometimes get damn cold. -30 at the moment 8O
 
Morbyd said:
Grego - to answer your question, it's no worse and full of no more miseravle people than anywhere else :lol: I think you're wrong about the historic differences between Russia and England, though. There's always been a see-saw between good links (the related royals) and rivalry (the Great Game in Central Asia). Interesting tidbit to illustrate the cultural ties that once were: a train station in Russian is called a "voksal", as in Vauxhall.
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morby - my point is not that britain and russia have had totally separate and isolated existences, my point needs to be understand in the context in which i made it. i was stating how the greater difference between britain and russia compared with say britain and france (not in terms solely of culture but language, ethnicity, politics, ideology, monarchical history, sovereignty, and some parts of culture) means that in general people in britain have also been less informed and familiar with russia than with some other european states. Ultimately (my point being) that cold war propaganda was more likely to work and be effective due to the historical background that preceeded such propaganda.

i don't doubt that there are hundreds of examples of cultural ties............but thats not really related to my point, as due to the last 2000 years of history, such tidbits as "voksal" are clandestine to the even some learned brits.
 
I was addressing your point, but perhaps did so inadequately.

I actually think Brits and Russians are a lot closer culturally than you think. All you have to do is see the behaviour of bunch of young men smashed on beer or vodka to recognize it :lol:

Are Britain and France closer in language, ethnicity, politics, etc, etc? Right now, yes... though I've got to admit that I don't quite get the French but understand the Russians and Brits quite well :lol:

The point I was trying to make earlier is that there was more interaction and perhaps understanding between Britain and Russia prior to the Cold War. The misperceptions that exist now are, I believe, the result of the Iron Curtain. Lack of information breeds misunderstanding.

PS. -33 C when I left the house this morning. If I stop posting soon, send a search party :lol:
 
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Morbyd said:
11 degrees in Barca... you're probably walking around in shorts :lol:
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No I'm not, I just went to the bank and it's not sunny and the humidity it's very high, so it feels colder than 11º... lets say 9º ;) :lol: :lol:

I went to the bank with my winter coat and my scarf :oops:
 
I read in the Metro on the way in this morning that two people died of exposure yesterday in Moscow :cry: Morbyd, you may want to borrow Silv's winter coat and scarf before you venture out :lol:
 
silvia said:
No I'm not, I just went to the bank and it's not sunny and the humidity it's very high, so it feels colder than 11º... lets say 9º ;) :lol: :lol:

I went to the bank with my winter coat and my scarf :oops:
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I'm not even bringing a jumper with me :lol:
 
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