Image by costiSuperstitions are still an important part of Russian mentality. Of course, no one really admits it, but they often do certain things in accordance with them.
I won't go listing all Russians superstitions here, they're easily available online. I'd like to concentrate on the ones that deal with (un)certainty avoidance.
Basically, Russians are reluctant to plan anything far ahead - as "you never know what happens tomorrow". So, people hardly ever say, "Next summer I'm doing this and that". It's more like "If everything goes well, I'd like to..."
Same thing applies to mortgage. Yes, the government's trying to make it more affordable for the young families to buy housing. But deep down a Russian person dreads "selling themself" for the next 5-15 years. There's this feeling of "What if I get fired tomorrow? What if there's and accidend and I become disabled? What if I get sick?"
That's why a credit crunch is not likely to happen here in the nearest future.
5 comments:
Hi Maria,
Thank you for very true post!
I absolutely agree with you - can not comprehend how I could know when I would like to have vacations next year (And our Personal Department demands us to tell them this information a year ahead!) Unbelievable - How I can know - when and where my friends would like to go or when it will be the best deal to buy airplane tickets or what will be the weather like!
You just touched something very important - at least in my view at life.
As for to take a credite and buy a flat - I get sick just to think about it! /But my Mom not! And she even advised me to do it... but how I can know what it will be tomorrow and flats are so expensive right now - and who knows maybe something happend and they become much cheaper in the future - and maybe one day I decide to leave the country.... /
Thank you for posting! That was a such pleasure to know that someone understand you! ;)
Best wishes,
Svet
Hi Svet,
Thanks for the comment. It's very true. That's why I could never take a college loan or anything.
We're just like that.
Я очень старалась понять и статью и комментарий Светы. Надеюсь, что поняла.
Дело не в суеверии, что боимся загадывать на несколько лет вперёд. Дело в ментальности. А также в неуверенности в завтрашнем дне. Издержки эпохи перемен.
Когда каждый сможет с уверенностью думать , верить и говорить, что " Мой дом-моя крепость", тогда и отношение к приобретению квартиры изменится. Можно и уехать из страны, но квартира остаётся Вам, и Вы можете её сдавать, продавать, дарить, просто закрыть до Вашего возвращения. По-моему, Вы не себе не доверяете, а условиям предоставления кредита.
I must be a bit Russian because I'm like that too. I don't see myself with a 25 yrs mortgage (just the thought of it is scary!) and I don't talk about my plans too much to no jinx them.
The only Russian superstition I adopted was not shaking hands in a doorway.
But hang on - I don't have a mortgage even though I'm nearly 30, and always get in trouble at work for not booking time off until the week before I want to go away...
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