Ever wondered why there are so many student backpackers from North America or Western Europe crisscrossing the world compared to very few Slavs? I always thought it was a question of money and visas. I was wrong. It’s not so much the capability, as the attitude and ethnic background that determines our life journey.
This story is not about backpackers; it’s only an example that shows how distinctively different the Slavs are. Our sales clerks tend to bark you off, defeating the purpose of serving the customer. Waiters won’t serve you milk if it’s not on the menu without consulting the restaurant manager first. Police will stand aside and smoke when residents are fighting a new developer who got a land plot outside their home illegally.
Coming face-to-face with these ugly sides of life, many foreigners view Ukraine as a barbarian land lacking manners and rule of law.
Yes, our reality may be less glamorous than what one sees on dating websites and beautiful baroque streets in the center of Kyiv. But the fact that we tail in investment climate and living standards, fail in democratic reforms and can’t get out of Ukraine with a backpack doesn’t mean we are innate losers.
The problem is that we often think of ourselves as losers, burying any opportunity for change. Malcolm Gladwell’s novel “Outliers” and his painstaking research on what determines success have been truly inspirational to piece Ukraine together. Squeezed for space, I will mention only one study from the book to give you an example
In the 1960s and 1970s, Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede traveled the world interviewing IBM employees to study their interaction and attitude towards superiors. Today “Hofstede’s Dimensions” is like a bible if you want to unlock the secret of why one nation acts differently to another, and how that can be fixed, argues Gladwell.
Hofstede came up with four comparative measurements: 1. Small versus large power distance; 2. Individualism versus collectivism; 3. Masculinity versus femininity; and 4. Weak versus strong uncertainty avoidance.
So let’s reconsider our backpackers and see what drives them.
I often felt like the only black swan in the gang of white birds on trips abroad. There were tons of happy-go-lucky Brits, Aussies and Europeans around, and only me from the whole Eastern European bloc. If you compare Russian and American rankings on the Hofstede’s scale of things, you’ll understand why.
In the power distance table, the U.S. ranks 40, while Russia has 93. What it means is that Russians feel inferior to their bosses, whereas Americans are more comfortable about disagreeing with those on top. A Russian would rarely leave on a crazy unscheduled trip around the world because that means upsetting a whole bunch of superiors in their life: parents, directors, etc.
No need to dig into psychology to understand that Russians are much less assertive, flexible and independent than Americans. Hence they rank 39 against an American strong 91 on the independence scale.
By calling a culture masculine, Hofstede refers to the high level of ambition and competitiveness – traits we usually associate with men. Family and relationships make up for a feminine attribute of the culture, regardless of the makeup of population. Not surprisingly, Americans conquer this rating with a manly 62 against Russia’s boyish 36. So, that’s another reason why Johns outnumber Ivans in the Amazon forests.
And when things go awry, Russians tend to come to a standstill. In contrast, Americans cope with uncertainty as they would with a sudden rain shower by opening an umbrella.
Russians with 95 points on this index of ambiguity prefer following the predictable scheme: go to school, find a job, marry, get a mortgage, have a baby and go on the all-inclusive trip with swarms of other Slavs.
Americans, for their part, find it easier to break out of patterns, hence grabbing their backpacks, roaming the world, searching for their own formula of life and sticking with the job only for as long as it takes for a new opportunity to present itself.
I came across the cultural difference vividly in my previous job when I was interviewed by a British but hired to work under a Russian. A job interview in London was like sailing a boat in good weather with an experienced friend who allowed me to take a lot of initiative. The actual work in Moscow was like navigating a storm under pretty autocratic management who really couldn’t stand any individualism.
Sadly but predictably, no official ranking has been done for Ukraine, so I took the liberty to take Russia as the base for comparison, given our mutual history. I believe, however, that western Ukraine would score closer to Poland and other Western countries, given a chance.
So, how much Ukrainians will succeed in the world, whether backpacking or in having a voice internationally, depends on whether we’ll be capable of shedding parts of our cultural legacy. No one says it’s easy. Our mentality was shaped way before collectivist methods of the Soviet Union were forced upon us. The tragic history of Ukraine being harassed and ripped apart by different empires, genocides and deportations left centuries-old scars deep down in our genes.
Slavs often tend to follow the crowd and are afraid to hold their superiors to account. Few take responsibility for anything, confirming the popular saying: My home is at the end of the village.
There is little trust in one’s abilities. But we can watch other success stories and follow suit.
If the British or Germans work their socks off in a bar – both while studying at school and during holiday seasons to save for a big journey, why can’t we?
There’s no need to rely solely on parents to supply us with pocket money, food and connections to land a job after graduation. Parental guidance and cash help big time, of course, but Ukrainians must invest into their own education, practical intelligence and trust more in themselves.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Popova can be reached at [email protected]
