Russian friendships

[Loren A. BILLINGS]

I read some of the discussion of "Russian friendships" to some Russians and
here are some of their (and my) impressions:

1.  Fewer people have phones in Russia, so it's more acceptable just drop
in on people you know.  Ironically, the lack of telecommunications makes
people closer in this respect.

2.  At _institut_ a whole group takes exactly the same courses for five
years together.  In the United States it's one year shorter, and hardly
anyone has an identical schedule with any other despite being in the last
year of a very small major (area of specialization).  "People get really
close," I'm told.

3.  Finally, people in the States move far more frequently, making it
difficult to make real _druz'ja_ (close friends, in the Russian sense).

Oh yes, there are cultural reasons, such as the distinctions between
_znakomyj_, _prijatel'_ and _drug_ (glossed ranging from "acquaintance" to
"friend"), but I thought these other, practical factors might be
significant as well.

Best, --Loren Billings (billings at rz.uni-leipzig.de)


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Loren A. BILLINGS, Ph.D.  (e-mail:  billings at rz.uni-leipzig.de)

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