In India they love Russians. Although tourists have difficulty communicating in English, this does not interfere with mutual understanding, since the Indians themselves speak it in the same way. Rich gestures and voice modulations are characteristic of both peoples. Besides indigenous people loves holidays and music, and Russians go out on vacation with special latitude. Therefore, such minor nuances as the inability to use cutlery or a room left in a deplorable state are not too upsetting.

Crimea

In Crimea they love us for our generosity of soul and willingness to fork out money. When a “Russo tourist” is walking or relaxing, he wants to arrange a holiday not only for himself, but also for everyone around him. And if the holiday drags on and is aggravated by damage to property, the Russian tourist more than pays for all the losses. But jokes aside, then, of course, Crimeans and Russians are connected by deep historical roots, fond memories of military battles and love for Russian literature.

Cuba

Freedom Island has a very complicated love affair with Russians. On the one hand, Soviet cars on the streets that look as if they were stolen from a museum, a passion for socialist ideas that the Soviet Union once personified, and a common love for dancing and talking until the morning between the two peoples. On the other hand, Cubans are losing respect for us for drunkenness, arrogance and waste, so the balance of power in this country is now fluctuating.

China

In China they love Russian tourists and easily find a common language with them. Nowadays, studying the Russian language is especially popular in Chinese universities, which makes communication between tourists and Chinese not only pleasant, but also understandable. In addition, the common communist past and the scale of the countries contributes to rapprochement and understanding. Asians are surprised only by our ability to drink alcoholic beverages, but they themselves justify this feature by the need to keep warm in the harsh Russian climate.

Laos

Also, thanks to our communist past, Laos gladly welcomes Russian tourists. Here, when visiting some attractions, citizens of Vietnam, China and Russia are not charged a fee, although it is difficult to understand why. A visa to Laos for Russian tourists is cheaper than for others.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, Russian tourists are treated as “brothers forever.” But since the Russian brother is much richer, the poor Vietnamese brother shamelessly asks the Russian tourist for more money than everyone else. After all, brothers must share.

Greece

Nowhere do they love Russian tourists as much as in Greece. A visa can be obtained here within 48 hours. Greece out of crisis, to at the moment, can only be deduced by tourism, and the Russian tourist is the most traveled tourist in the world. In shops, hotels and restaurants they treat us very warmly. Even on the street they will be happy to tell you how to get somewhere if you give the code word “Russia”.

Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com

As for official statistics, naturally, they exist. On the website Federal agency there is such data on tourism in the Russian Federation - taking into account the number of Russians who left the country for the purpose of tourism. Naturally, there are no complete data for this year yet, so below is only for the first half of 2014.

The top six countries for tourism in 2014 are Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, Spain, Germany, Greece.

For comparison, data for the last year, 2013 - Turkey, Egypt, Greece, China, Thailand, Spain.

As for tourism leaders, in general, this is natural. I myself visited these countries, although not specifically in 2013-14.
Countries for general travel raise more questions.

It turns out that the most visited country in the first half of 2014 was Finland. Moreover, not from the point of view of tourism, but for official and other reasons. Then comes Türkiye (which is logical), Ukraine and Kazakhstan (which is also quite predictable). Although it is unclear how the events in Ukraine affected the attendance of this country. And how correctly was the visit to Crimea considered - as an administrative object of which country? Abkhazia and Estonia, it turns out, are visited a little less often than Egypt. But, again, not for the purpose of tourism. And from which one? And I don't know for sure. Abkhazia is only at the level of fruit associations - New Year's tangerines immediately come to mind.

And also about the vicissitudes of statistics - Germany is rising, displacing China down in tourism, although the German consulate has never been easy to obtain visas. In this sense, Spain, which distributes semi- and annual Schengen cards, is more advantageous. By the way, it became the most visited tourist destination in the first half of 2014 from visa countries.

But in general, any statistics are a reflection of a certain level of development of society. Everyone chooses for himself where it is better for him to spend his vacation - his optimal price/quality ratio.

And I would like to end on a somewhat thoughtful note.
What was in the advertisement - “If there is a paradise in the world, this is the Krasnodar region”? The slogan is, of course, optimistic.
But. I personally wanted to go to Spain this summer. And my friend went to Sochi. Guess who spent more money? :)

Saved

As for official statistics, naturally, they exist. The website of the Federal Tourism Agency of the Russian Federation contains such data - taking into account the number of Russians who left the country for the purpose of tourism. Naturally, there are no complete data for this year yet, so below is only for the first half of 2014...

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Russian tourists are welcome in many countries, but there are places where Russians are especially loved. From Serbia, where Russians are called brothers, to India, where thousands of Russians leave every year.

Serbia

Relations between Russia and Serbia have a long history, during which they have been tested for strength more than once. Although sometimes things were not so smooth. However, during periods of major upheaval - the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the First and Second World Wars, the Yugoslav crisis of the 1990s - Russia always came to the aid of the small Balkan country, or at least expressed its full support.

Public opinion polls conducted in Serbia in 2010 showed that Serbs have a significantly better attitude towards Russians than towards their European neighbors, and this despite the fact that there is also a certain negativism among the Serbian elite, associated largely with inflated expectations of support from Russian side.

Now about 2.5 thousand Russians live in Serbia; some Serbian universities have a Russian language department.

Since 2009, there has been an agreement between Russia and Serbia visa-free regime, V Balkan country Several tens of thousands of Russians come every year. However, the attitude of the Serbs towards the Russians is best characterized by a poster in the center of the city of Novi Sad, on which it is written in Russian: “Thank you Russia!”

Greece

The connection between Greece and Russia has always been close, as it was based on similar spiritual and cultural values. The desire to preserve traditions is evidenced by the numerous visits of Russian leaders to Greece.

In particular, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took part in events dedicated to the 185th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Greece, after its liberation from the Ottoman yoke. This is a memorable event in which Russia also played a role.

Russians are loved in Greece and are always welcome. Greece has recently become one of the priority holiday destinations for Russian tourists, which has largely been facilitated by the simplification visa regime between two countries.

Statistics show that over the past three years the flow of Russian tourists to Hellas has more than tripled.

In 2013, the number of vacationers from Russia amounted to 1 million 352 thousand people. On average, a Russian tourist spends about 1 thousand euros in Greece, while tourists from other countries usually spend no more than 700 euros here.

Greek Ambassador to the Russian Federation Danai-Magdalini Kumanaku, when asked about stereotypes regarding Russians, answered that “in Greece there is a positive attitude towards Russia.” Repatriates from the USSR, who are well integrated into Greek society, act as a kind of bridge in the relationship between Greeks and Russians.

India

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia inherited close friendly and partnership relations with India. Many Russians willingly move to this Asian country, where they live very comfortably.

The warm attitude of Indians towards Russians is largely due to the comprehensive assistance that the Soviet Union provided to India. Russian entrepreneur Anna Tikhaya-Tishchenko notes that “it’s surprisingly pleasant to be Russian in India,” also due to the similarity of the mentality of the two peoples.

Cuba

Cuba has not yet forgotten the enormous financial, economic, military and political support that the Soviet Union provided to it. Even when Russia stopped providing assistance to Liberty Island in the early 1990s and took the path of normalizing relations with the United States, the Cubans essentially did not change their attitude towards the Russians.

Let us note that quite recently, despite the difficult economic situation in the country, the Cuban authorities decided to allocate money for construction in Havana Orthodox church. Cubans still carefully care for the Memorial dedicated to Soviet internationalist soldiers.

Russian tourists are always welcome guests at Cuban resorts.

It cannot be said that they are loved there more than others, but they are always treated cordially. Especially warm relations, according to vacationers from Russia, are in the Cuban province, which is not so spoiled by money.

Nicaragua

During the Soviet era, Nicaragua was the second most important strategic partner of our state among countries after Cuba. Latin America. Large financial injections into the economy of Nicaragua provided significant support to the developing state. Russia has also forgiven almost all of the debt Latin American country– the total volume of amnestied funds amounted to almost $6 billion.

Nicaraguans never forget the free assistance that our country has provided and continues to provide.

To this, the country's leadership, represented by President Daniel Ortega, responds to Russia with unconditional support in the international political arena. Thus, Nicaragua became the first country after Russia to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Confirmation of the strong traditions of friendship between the two countries can be seen on the streets of Managua. “Russia – Nicaragua” - this inscription adorns the buses plying around the capital.

Venezuela

Russian-Venezuelan relations received a good impetus for their development back in 1857, when the Russian Empire recognized the independence of the Republic of Venezuela. In 2008, after the visit of President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela, there was a new leap in relations between the two countries, which was followed by an Agreement on the waiver of visa formalities between Moscow and Caracas.

There are few Russians in Venezuela. These are mainly tourists. Often, as Russian guests note, if the Venezuelan likes the interlocutor, he will show the way, give the necessary information, and perhaps feed him.

The best gratitude for a hospitable host would be a small souvenir in the form of a T-shirt or cap with the inscription “Russia”.

President of the Caribbean Dream Group Mikhail Kranchev, who lives on Margarita Island, confirms the good attitude of Venezuelans towards Russians. Kranchev notes that even during the presidency of Hugo Chavez, Venezuelans liked to repeat that “our presidents are friends.”

Syria

Russia has a long and strong relationship with Syria. Almost from the moment the Syrian Arab Republic was founded, the Soviet Union provided it with diplomatic and military support in the confrontation with Israel.

In 1971, the logistics unit of the USSR Navy was founded in the Mediterranean port of Tartus. Soviet firearms, cars, tanks, planes, and missiles were supplied to Syria.

Thus, Syria became the most loyal state to the Soviet Union in the Middle East.

Syria was unable to pay the Soviet Union for the weapons supplied, so by 1992 its debt to Russia exceeded $13.4 billion.

Part of the Syrian debt - $9.8 billion out of $13.4 billion - was written off in 2005. To repay the remaining amount, a number of agreements were signed between Moscow and Damascus in the field of construction, oil and gas. Syria has also pledged to purchase Russian weapons and modernize Soviet-era armored vehicles.

Türkiye

In Turkey they love Russian tourists. Perhaps this is a historical memory. Despite the fact that Russia often fought with the Ottoman Empire, after the revolution, relations between Soviet Russia and the Turkish Republic changed. The USSR greatly helped Turkey in its development. He supplied food and weapons.

The Soviet government helped Ankara in the construction of two gunpowder factories, supplying equipment and raw materials for them.

Frunze allocated 100 thousand rubles to the Trabzon authorities to organize an orphanage, and Aralov donated 20 thousand liras to the Turkish army for the purchase of field printing houses and film installations.

The Lausanne International Conference on Turkey, held from November 1922 to July 1923, led to the declaration of Turkey as an independent state, with Mustafa Atatürk as president. All foreign troops were withdrawn from the country.

During the conference, the Entente reserved the Turkish straits. When the Montreux Convention was signed in 1936, where the USSR was already a full participant and Turkey was a very strong state, the Turks returned sovereignty over the straits.

List of countries where they do not like tourists from Russia, for recent years replenished. At the same time, residents of those places that are becoming more and more popular among Russians as resorts have joined the ranks of Russophobes. Due to the bad behavior of some compatriots abroad, the stereotypical thinking of the “hosts” and differences in cultures, Russian tourists may encounter rudeness and aggression from the host country on vacation.

Baltics. Once in the Baltic countries, you will probably notice that the opinions about Russia and Russians contained in the local media reflect the opinions of ordinary citizens much more than is commonly believed. The image of Russia as an occupying country, which has been imposed on the Balts for about 20 years, has become firmly entrenched in the minds of young people and is perceived extremely negatively. Thus, a Russian who decides to vacation in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia may encounter rudeness and rudeness. It's better for you if you don't know local languages- save your nerves. It is especially not recommended to know what “Russian pig” sounds like in Latvian, Estonian or Lithuanian. “A friend living in Riga, seething with anger, voiced to me the comments Latvians made to us, based on the fact that we are both Russian tourists and do not know the language,” says Anna. “The most interesting thing is that when they say nasty things to us, smiled."

In order to local restaurants and cafes to be served not least, it is best to communicate with each other in English, experienced tourists from Russia advise. When communicating in Russian, you risk waiting for your order for as long as you like. “We were traveling on the Moscow-Vilnius train. When it was our turn in the dining car at the bar counter, the bartender began to serve the Estonian woman standing behind us, and both he and she showed with all their appearance that it could not be otherwise,” - says Irina.

Ukraine, more precisely, its western part. No matter how much you try to talk to the hotel staff or waiter in Russian, nothing will work; they will still answer you in Ukrainian - out of principle. No one here believes that a Russian tourist may really not know what chorna kava is. “I couldn’t communicate with the waiters at all,” says Alexey. “They didn’t react at all to my Russian remarks. Orders had to be made through my Kiev friend. For two days, not a single, indeed not a single, waiter answered my questions. requests made in Russian."

In Lviv, the Kryivka restaurant, dedicated to the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), is thriving. There are anti-Soviet and anti-Semitic posters on the walls, and the names of the dishes on the menu will not excite the appetite of every Russian: fried crucian carp “Muscovites drunken crucian carp,” buckwheat “Everyday Life of the Wehrmacht,” cocoa “Childhood of Stepan Bandera.” But in order to be able to examine the interior of “Kryivka” and get acquainted with the menu, you need to know the password to enter the establishment - the organizational greeting of a member of the Bandera movement “glory to Ukraine” (in response - “glory to the heroes”). After a successful exchange of code words, the guard will ask you to swear that you are not a Muscovite or a communist.

If during the day the health of a Russian tourist in Lviv, by and large, is not in danger, then at night you can run into ill-wishers based on nationality anywhere - even on the square of the Lviv Opera House. An ill-wisher can be recognized by the loud cry of “Muscovites to knives!”, and it is better not to wait for what will follow him. “We were almost beaten in the very center of Lviv just because we were Russian. Militant-minded young people, having heard Russian speech, ran up to us, began shouting obscenities in broken Russian, offered to fight, accompanying their proposal with active gestures - so that we Apparently they understood,” says Alexey. “They fell behind when they found out that there were Ukrainians in our company - they decided to let us go in peace.”

Türkiye. How more rest in this country is gaining popularity among Russian tourists, the less local residents rejoice at their arrival. This is especially true for the female part of the population. Due to the thriving sex tourism in the country, women of Slavic appearance are increasingly faced with hostility from Turkish women. Turkish men they are more favorable towards Russian women, but they say about men that they do not understand what a family is, therefore they allow women to behave promiscuously. Turks often present complaints to Russians that have already become banal: a love of alcohol and fighting, an inability to behave at a buffet table. But there are also more original statements. “My wife doesn’t like Russians, she says they all have AIDS,” a Turk selling souvenirs in a hotel shop shared with a Russian tourist. “After which the interlocutor hastened to assure me that this is nonsense, and he, of course, does not believe in it,” says Evgenia.

France, Courchevel b. Interest in ski resort Courchevel began to awaken among the Russians a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian tourists of that time from current visitors of this prestigious resort, of course, are strikingly different. But despite the fact that the Russian oligarchs who come to the Alps today are sophisticated, educated people with good taste, the French do not favor them and do not want to be neighbors with them during their vacation. Actually, no one wants to be neighbors with Russians during the “Russian seasons” in Courchevel. The behavior of rich Russians seems too shocking and even indecent to Europeans. In January 2007, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov was arrested at the fashionable Byblos hotel in the company of 7 women on suspicion of organizing a pimping network. True, all charges against Prokhorov were later dropped and an apology was apologized for the detention; the French were unable to prove the indecency of the actions of the Russian tourists. However, they still don’t favor Russians, because they all wear T-shirts with the inscription “Russia”, every restaurant has a menu in Russian, and they serve pickled cucumbers with vodka ordered at the bar without any questions asked. “And my French husband never tires of being surprised: where do they get so much money?!” says Daria, who has lived in Paris for 10 years.

For the period between the New Year and Orthodox Christmas, as well as at the beginning of March, the British and the French themselves have holidays during French Alps has to be postponed. “The French say that during the “Russian seasons” they have nothing to do there, and sigh with nostalgia,” says Daria. “They believe that the Russians took Courchevel from them, and cannot forgive them for this.”

True, there is a small part of the French who are happy about the massive influx of Russians. These are service personnel who remember our compatriots with gratitude because of the colossal tips.

India, Goa. It looks like Russian tourists have fallen out of favor at their favorite resort. Goa's tourist honeymoon with Russia is over, The Times of India stated in February. Tourist visas Russians are either expired or can be renewed for a small bribe. Russians do business in Goa, commit crimes, attack local residents and with such behavior terrify Indians and scare away tourists from other countries - endangering well-being tourism industry state, the newspaper writes. “We’ve never had problems before with the British, the Germans, the Scandinavians or even the hippies since the 70s,” the publication quotes George Fernandes, president of the Goa Tourist Taxi Association. “The Russians come and eat our bread. They do private cabs, meet us at car at the airport of their compatriots and do it under the guise of driving their friends. What, friends come to see them every week?! Russian tourists are representatives of the lower classes of society; they are hostile by nature, they believe in Goa. The companies they created in Goa do not pay taxes, and the Russians not only engage in crime themselves, but also represent a convenient environment for Indian criminals. Indian politicians do not deny that they once benefited from tourists from Russia, but note that they lost even more. And local residents say that they will not tolerate hostile attacks from the Russians, and promise to pay them in the same coin.

Let's talk about where and how Russian people relax. This is quite interesting.

The crisis has affected many areas of life for Russians, including the entertainment sector.

The trend has remained the same: people watch TV series, spend time in the country (these activities do not require special expenses), but visiting shopping and entertainment centers and traveling abroad have become less frequent.

“The consumer confidence index, according to Rosstat, at the end of the first quarter of 2015 fell to minus 32% from minus 18% in the fourth quarter of 2014 (it was worse only in the first quarter of 2009 - minus 35%). Real incomes were declining, the population began to save on everything that was not essential” (Vedomosti)

Our compatriots have become less likely to vacation on a grand scale; they are saving on everything except the most basic needs. , only a few are having fun with the same pre-crisis dynamics. Basically, everyone has tightened their belts and are trying to find an alternative to foreign and noisy, restaurant, club holidays in some homemade, useful or inexpensive activities.

For example, sales of board games increased, Russians began to visit fitness centers more actively , pump up your abs, watch your figure, someone even decided to radically change their habits: they chose knitting and reading books as entertainment.

“Outbound tourism has decreased significantly. For example, in the first quarter, one third fewer Russians came to Europe than a year ago. The turnover of restaurants, cafes and bars in Russia in the first quarter decreased by 4.4%. Russians walk less shopping centers, sales of clothing and footwear fell by almost half in volume terms. It’s somehow embarrassing to even think about car sales.”

Staying at home provokes not only the development of interest in inactive and inexpensive types of entertainment, but also, for example, drinking... About the latter, it is only known that:

“Production of vodka and beer in 2014 decreased by 22.5 and 7%, respectively, retail sales of alcohol - by 7.7%. Wine imports fell by a third in the first quarter. On the other hand, last year the excise tax on strong alcohol increased sharply, causing an increase in the shadow turnover of vodka and sales of moonshine stills. From February 1, 2015, the minimum price for vodka has been reduced” (Vedomosti).

However, so far the picture is this: there are many beer kiosks and bottling points, and they are happily alive...

The majority of Russians, whether during a crisis or before, engage in the most popular form of leisure—watching TV. Another significant part prefers to spend time in the countryside, in nature.

Despite numerous conversations about how good it is abroad, only 17% of our compatriots have international passports. About 70-80% of Russians have never vacationed abroad. In general, visiting is good, but home is better...

For example, in 2014, only 8% of Russians traveled outside the country, 21% vacationed at their dacha, 40% did not go anywhere at all during their vacation, while 79% (in all categories) were satisfied with the state of affairs, but among those who visited abroad they remained on vacation 91% satisfied..

“Among the factors that marred the holiday of Russians were high prices - 12% of respondents complained about them, and poor service - 12% were also dissatisfied with the service sector.

If we talk about costs, on average Russians spent 29,731 rubles on a trip, which is less than last year (30,778). At the same time, the highest expenses were among vacationers from Moscow and St. Petersburg: 38,579 rubles, which, however, is not surprising: incomes in these cities also exceed the national average.”

The most favorite countries among Russian tourists - according to Rostourism:

Egypt (402 thousand people visited it since the beginning of 2015),

Thailand (185 thousand people),

Germany (141 thousand Russians),

United United Arab Emirates(107 thousand Russians since the beginning of this year),

Italy (101 thousand tourists).

Abroad Russian tourists prefer to sunbathe, visit sights, go shopping, etc.

On Russian lands and beaches, people prefer: lie on the beach, explore the world through excursions, stay in a sanatorium.

There are fewer people who go on a hike on their own, pitch a tent in front of a 3 km abyss, or raft down rough river rapids on a homemade raft. But the latter is more interesting than the usual comfortable one for everyone and is guaranteed safe holiday: where, if not in the face of the fear of death, with adrenaline running wild in the blood, can one appreciate everyday life without adventure?

An alternative to foreign horizons for a large part of Russians who cannot afford a vacation abroad is Russian resorts, recreation areas, natural parks, rivers, lakes, dachas, a house in the village with grandma, fishing, picking mushrooms, berries, barbecue.

And although a holiday in their own lands can be much better than a foreign one - after all, there are conditions - still even those who will not go to foreign lands dream of visiting there. Because it’s exotic, a change of scenery... most often it’s good to relax in a favorable environment, but precisely in a place cut off from the usual rut. True, if, being unprepared, you go to countries South Africa with a climate opposite to that typical for Russia, leaving after being bitten by insects is not a guarantee that your vacation will be “successful.”

Today, only a quarter of Russians going on vacation go away from home and only 5% go abroad; 2.5 times more vacation in Crimea.

Fewer young Russians actually go to nightclubs than it appears, about 7%. The main age category is up to 30 years. A third of Russians visit cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, 17% go to fast food establishments, and 13% go to beauty salons.

Nightclubs are no longer as popular as they used to be. If at one time they were a new format for such a relic of society as discos in rural house Komsomol, where everyone came in “sweatpants”, leggings and with a “mafon” on their shoulders, today there is already a more modern alternative to nightclubs. It is much more fashionable to go to theaters, get carried away by the abstract art of some pretentious, inadequate geniuses and amaze everyone around with knowledge about the unknown to mere mortals. However, those who are over 30 are still unanimously repeating that our youth have decayed and love only dance floors and energy drinks.

We won’t talk about the moral qualities of young people, since this is a complex issue, but as for the fact that the younger generation is, to put it mildly, stupid... this is not true. More and more you can meet very smart young people who, at the age of 18, easily entered a medical university and can enlighten some doctors with their knowledge; those who are interested in the works of such famous personalities, whom the former generation began to know only when they turned 40 years old... And these are not isolated cases - there are many such teenagers. In general, nightclubs are becoming a thing of the past.

Quite a lot of Russians are “cultivating”:

“visit cinemas (22%),

museums, galleries and exhibitions (12%),

drama theaters (11%),

concerts of both modern (8%) and classical (5%) music, circuses (4%).”

At all, cultural events are becoming more and more popular among Russians, which, of course, is good news.

For example, in our city about ten years ago, many museums were located in buildings with facades and premises in need of repair; the exhibitions themselves were poorly attended. Today everything has been renovated and many new cultural spots have opened and are visited.

And both national and regional events are taking place at a completely different level than before. On Youth Day, for example, I remember ten years ago the main entertainment for those to whom the holiday was dedicated was to get drunk and walk around the city inappropriately, scaring people.

And now there are plenty of drunks, but there are bright, interesting, useful events that remain in the memory of those who were previously tipsy: carnivals, games, shows, surprises, various miracles, concerts, special effects, etc.

Evenings of reading poetry and various library educational programs(Do you think they are attended by excellent students who can’t get out of their desks?) they are gathering enough advanced youth. Of course, there are some young people who will take a different path, but still today Russia is becoming more intellectual - that’s a fact.

And yet, one of the entertainments that exists in parallel with others or replaces all is watching TV. What and how often do people watch on TV? Despite the popularity of the Internet, TV is still a leader among many Russians, who consider it a source of knowledge and obtaining basic information about the world. News and films are what viewers most often watch on TV screens in our country.

TV series occupy a special place in the TV demand rating. What draws people to screens or to watching beautifully portrayed stories of other people's lives via the Internet? It seems to be a useless thing to watch artificial tragedies and fairy tales from the sidelines. However, most TV series are just the banal bustle of life, they don’t bring any benefit, but they don’t do much harm either... “about nothing,” one might say, or “about something, but it’s still pointless.”

Perhaps this is the concept of relaxation for many: you can not think, but just sit on the sofa and watch, albeit someone else’s, but such an interesting life...

Almost as popular as TV is the Internet among Russians, “hanging out on the Internet” is the most popular activity after watching TV programs. It would probably be superfluous to mention in detail about the Internet as a means of communication and pastime. If you are reading this article, you understand what we are talking about and what the Internet means in the modern world.

What is “real Russian holiday” anyway?? If we remove vodka and its analogues from the first associations and the picture presented, then, of course, a feast, a bathhouse, barbecue, nature, the village. Or rural summer resort, weeding beds, bathing in cold river, catching fish from a lake slightly larger than a puddle, etc. In winter - sleds, slides, snowballs...

You can’t go to the village for your whole life, but for a couple of weeks it’s quite possible, just a radical change of scenery. Why not rest?

But you still need to go abroad, there are many wonders, views, contrasts that are not in Russia, and at the same time you can appreciate what our country is like in comparison with others.

Some of my friends who love watching “soap operas” on TV plan every season to somehow radically change their lives, buy a dacha, go to a foreign resort, but the majority remain in the same situation. And this is neither bad nor good, it’s just that a person very easily gets used to inert types of recreation.

Some people manage to have fun at work too. For example, as many as 10% of office workers play outdoor (!) games in the workplace, and another part takes smoke breaks every half hour.

A quarter of Russians play computer games, a tenth board games: chess, checkers, many - mobile games.

On the question of what is missing and what else Russians would like. Many would be happy to go to an evening of humor and satire or something similar (for example, to a performance by the Comedy Club, KVN), slightly fewer Russians want to go to a drama theater performance, almost the same number to a pop music concert, a little less attracted Russian ballet, circus, classical music concerts, opera.

Our compatriots are very happy about the entry of Crimea into Russia, go on vacation to this region Over half of Russians intend to, but so far only 3% have taken advantage of this chance, compared to 1% in 2003.

About vacation, about the sights of Crimea in the video “Living in Thrills”

Black Sea popular place vacations among Russians: today 12% of the population vacation there, compared to 4% in 2003.

What else can be noted about the entertainment of Russians? Paintball, table tennis, rallies, tournaments for overcoming difficult routes, chatting with friends, some consider it entertainment to prepare pickles and preserves for the winter, gourmet dishes according to non-standard recipes, embroider a portrait of the Virgin Mary on linen, create figures using the origami technique, etc. .d.

What kind of entertainment do you prefer?