Russian Journalists in Chico for Three Week Training:
Russian Soul Meets American Optimism

Russian journalists Valiri Chrytchkov and Elena Shumilina (photo BA)

Even the homeless in San Francisco have a spark of optimism in their eyes, according to Valiri Chrytchkov, a visiting journalist from Tula, Russia. "In Russia, people are very sad," agreed his colleague Elena Shumilina. This was one of the startling impressions that the two garnered over their three-week training visit to the United States, smashing not just their own stereotypes of Americans but those of the interviewers as well.

The visit was organized by CSU, Chico's International Programs and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sixteen Russian television news directors took classes, traveled to Sacramento and San Francisco, and shot footage for a training documentary to take home. Accompanied and assisted by Max Kotchetkou, translator, Shumilina and Chrytchkov took time out of their tour to reflect on the two countries.

Both news directors were impressed with how law abiding Americans are. On the plane trip from Russia to America, Chrytchkov said, "I saw the sign "fasten your seat belt, "and it was blinking. In Russia, people never pay attention to the sign. The Americans were trying to buckle us in. I was trying to go to the rest room, and they wouldn't let me." Chrytchkov was mostly amused by the incident and used it as an example of what he and Shumilina see as typical American behavior. In Chico, for example, they were surprised by the behavior at the Farmers Market. "We see all this produce. People are walking around; they're choosing what they want to buy, and nobody is taking care of the security of the place. Nobody steals," observed Chrytchkov. "Also, the person willingly comes to the end of the line at the register—in Russia, people would not do that."

Talking about obeying laws led to discussion of the Clinton scandal. Chrytchkov smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "Poor Clinton." In Russia, people are not interested in such private matters about public figures. Shumilina conjectured that perhaps Americans do not have other important national issues to think about if Clinton's behavior can dominate the media for such a long time.

For Shumilina, the standardization of American life was something she had not expected. "Everybody looks the same," she said. Russians are more individualistic than Americans in their clothing, food, and opinions. In America, people seemed to "really care what their neighbors say about a certain topic." The implication was that they care so much that they are afraid to be different. Both suggested that even news directors and journalists seem to have more freedom to express themselves at this time in Russia.

Shumilina also remarked on what she called the "pragmatism" of Americans. "People go to the stores and just pull clothes off the rack. They treat clothes as something to wear and food as something to eat. In Russia, food is for pleasure and for company." The implication was that Russians, perhaps out of necessity, take care of and treasure their belongings.

Chrytchkov, from Tula, the home of Tolstoy, put his head in his hands as he thought about his favorite Tolstoy novel. "It is difficult—but if I must chose—Anna Karenina." Tula is also the home of AK-47s. As the conversation moved to violence, Chrytchkov said that he was surprised to find that America was safer than he'd imagined. In Russia, "our perception of America is limited by the action movies they show on TV," he said. "It was really pleasant to see that even in such a big city like San Francisco, we felt ourselves very comfortable during the night and day. Because in our cities at night we would fear for our life." Russia is experiencing increasing crime, a situation he attributed to current economic conditions.

Chrytchkov and Shumilina had very different ideas about what should be done about the current economic conditions and whether it is a good idea for the government to print ruples to pay teachers and government workers. Shumilina expressed deep concern for those who haven't been paid for their work. In her city, Habarovsk, in eastern Russia on the Chinese border, teachers haven't been paid for six months. In September, teachers were planning a strike. Doctors, also unpaid, went on a hunger strike. When asked how people live without pay, Shumilina replied, "Some people have cows, some people have earth plots, some people just re-sell something. But it is sad for them to be doing that when they should be preparing their lessons."

Shumilina described the demoralization of the Russian people because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic struggles of the country: "No one believes in anything any more; the "inner core" is missing. Nobody believes in communism, and there is a very small percentage of people who believe in anything." When asked whether the freedom for organized religion helped fill in the gap, Chrytchkov quickly replied, "The Russian soul is religious."

Envisioning Russia's future is difficult for the two. "People should be brought up with something—some future society you should look for. Now we have this void," explained Shumilina. Chrytchkov pointed out that in America you spend your entire life as an American, but Russia has been Tzarist Russia, Proletarian Russia, the Soviet Union, and "Now we don't even know what our country is like, so we don't have these basic moral values that are valuable to the society." Still, with a smile and a laugh, and a strong desire that we understand, he said, "We love our unstable and crazy country." On October 24, they left for home and the journey into Russia's future.

BA/KM