Russian Prejudices
May. 4th, 2023 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
2019-11-30:
I remember my mother, who knew some Russian emigres, telling me what they told her about Russian attitudes. Soviet Russians were very bigoted, with a definite social hierarchy--"Great Russians" (natives of the original Russia) were at the top, while White Russians (natives of Belarus) were considered almost as good, while all the other ethnicities in the rest of the Soviet Union were considered a bunch of barbarians and were second-class citizens at best. People outside the Soviet Union were, of course, beneath contempt. Except maybe for East Germans, who were respected and feared. The Soviets never forgot the carnage of WWII, and feared the possibility of the Germanies reuniting.
I remember my mother, who knew some Russian emigres, telling me what they told her about Russian attitudes. Soviet Russians were very bigoted, with a definite social hierarchy--"Great Russians" (natives of the original Russia) were at the top, while White Russians (natives of Belarus) were considered almost as good, while all the other ethnicities in the rest of the Soviet Union were considered a bunch of barbarians and were second-class citizens at best. People outside the Soviet Union were, of course, beneath contempt. Except maybe for East Germans, who were respected and feared. The Soviets never forgot the carnage of WWII, and feared the possibility of the Germanies reuniting.