I saw a Russian movie that seemed to say 12,400 Russian children per year get kidnapped and used as organ donors. Is it true?
The name of the movie was "Yarik" and it was made in 2008. If a rich family needs a heart transplant for their child, and want it to be from a white child who died in an accident, are they willing to pay a lot of money, and not investigate whether it really was an accident? The movie seemed to imply Russian cops were involved in the kidnappings. Presumably they would get a lot more money that way than from their salaries? And they might not know the children were being used as organ donors? I just want to know if there is any truth to it, or if the movie is entirely fictional. Does it happen a lot all over the world? That rich children get organs from kidnapped children?
Do Russian parents usually beat their children all the time, or is it considered Child Abuse like in America?
... and millions of families follow the "standards" of Dostoevsky's novels, of course. Did you know, that a lot of Russians actually dislike Dostoevsky? Did you know, that he was actually not entirely ethnic Russkiy? Q: "Usually, when I think of Russia, I think of something out of a Dostoevsky novel..." A: Usually, when I think of the U.S., I think of something out of a Charlaine Harris' mysteries... Q: "Are beatings the norm?" A: is drinking human blood the norm? @Je veux medical advice, why are you so obsessed with Russia? And btw, my father is ex-military, not an attache, just so you know. And he treated me like a little princess. He actually still does. And we both dislike Dostoevsky ;) Oh, and I don't base my opinions about what's going on in the world based on tv/movies/books...
What are good online resources for learning Russian?
Learning a new language, especially when we talk about the Russian language, then it is always an exciting experience, but it also takes a lot of hard work. Adding to that one would also require to give a proper time to learn a Russian language. Besides this, it is also very important for any individual to keep himself or herself motivated to learn a new language as it can do wonders.Let us not forget that the Russian language is the prime native language that is vocalized in many parts of the Europe. I would suggest russia-go, which is a new online interactive platform that provides private lessons with experienced, talented instructors. All that you would require is to pick your instructor for each lesson, and having said that you are free from the stress over relationships with your classmates that in general arise during group lessons.The charges of having any lesson are very nominal. The entire Russian language learning experience is self-paced, which means you can learn at your own pace, anywhere and anytime. Apart from all these, most of the tutors are Russian or Ukrainian ladies, and each of them are too fluent in English and if required could easily provide support whenever required during learning Russian language.I have just started learning Russian through this site and it’s quite interesting. Tutors are so-friendly and we often discuss about the Russian culture which adds to my interest level.Do not get discouraged when you first start to learn Russian language. It is not your first language and learning a new language demands time, but once you get a good command, it will pay off finally.
Do Russian films portray Americans in bad guy roles like American films portray Russians in bad guy roles? If not, why? What does this say about the respective countries world view?
Russian movies don’t portray Americans as bad guys. This is because ninety percent of the popular movies in Russia come from America with Russian subtitles of course. Ironically, we watch the same movies! However, Russians get a laugh when American actors try to speak Russian, or pretend to speak Russian. Real Russians speak Russian.You have to wonder if Russians are aware that they are the bad guys in movies? I honestly don’t think that the penny has dropped with them. Russian movies rarely portray Americans as evil guys. Usually it’s other Russians or aliens. Are we just not important enough to be evil to Russians? Why is there a villain gap?Depicting Russians as villains has a long history. Prior to the Cold War, Russia represented a geopolitical threat to the West. However, the fall of the Berlin Wall didn’t bring an end to Russian villains onscreen. Somehow Russians retained favored villain status with American studios.You have to wonder how Russians feel about always being the villain in movies? It turns out that Russians are fine with being portrayed as bad guys. They are aware that some Russians, particularly the Russian mob, do terrible and evil things. Americans lack that element of intimidation that Russians have. Sadly, American stereotypes portray the average American as either fat or stupid. Did anyone ever watch Married with Children? Even today Russians have more to fear from fellow Russians than from Americans.If you are interested in outdated movies about Russia or from Russia, check out the list below from Amazon Instant Video:The ThiefKidnapping, Caucasian Style or new Shurik's adventuresBattle for SevastopolThe Russian WoodpeckerWhite MossGabi: Russian Coffee (English Subtitled)Snow Maiden (English Subtitled)
Russian Disney-Like Movies?
How about : -Dobrynya Nikitich i Zmey Gorynych (Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч) - a pseudo-historical comedy based on the folktales about the three boatyrs (they were like the knights errant in Russia). It's very funny, and actually has a lot of political jokes. It's the second part of a trilogy, but you don't need to see either of the two other movies to understand this one. The other ones are Alyosha Popovich i Tugarin Zmey (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей) and Ilya Muromets i Solovey Razboynik (Илья Муромец и Соловей Разбойник) -Another recent animated movie is Knyaz' Vladimir (князь Владимир). It talks about the early history of Kievan Rus', but it's bright and has enough action to keep the kids entertained. -An all time classic that I think everyone should see is the short animated movie Hedgehog in the Fog (Ёжик в тумане). It is trully a masterpiece and is very heartwarming. However, it's not Disney-like per se, so maybe the younger kids won't be so interested.