Russia and the West — The Everyday Perspective

Abstract

This chapter discusses how ordinary Northwest Russians speak about themselves as northerners, as opposed to Russian southerners, and as Russians, as opposed to Scandinavians. Russian northerners describe themselves as efficient, cultured, calm and considerate, unlike southerners, who they portray as noisy, uncultured and cruel. Scandinavians come across as well-organized, orderly and shrewd on the one hand, and dull, spoiled and decadent on the other. The author argues that people draw on the common pool of narrative resources to construct an identity that either chimes with or challenges the Westernness of Scandinavians.