The Russian Foreign Ministry has published a list of recommendations for citizens traveling the world. Reading the list, you’d think Borat was responsible for writing it.
Here are some of the most helpful.
- “Comparing a Kenyan to a monkey can cause the very strongest reaction, as can rudely questioning a Kenyan’s mental abilities (knocking yourself on the head, as a gesture during conversation, is considered an insult). If you poke a Kenyan with your finger during conversation, it can also instigate aggression from him.”
- Russian citizens who do not speak French are strongly recommended to ask for a menu in Russian or English. Attempts to pronounce the names of meals in French without knowledge of the rules of the French language can lead to conflicts.
- “Canada, where same-sex marriage was long ago legalized and there is a serious ‘obsession’ with gender equality, isn’t the best place for retelling ‘obscene male’ anecdotes and jokes about ‘the non-traditionals.’
And of course, Israel is covered:
Israel
“In general, the tolerance threshold for spoken obscenities in Israel is low. Here, you’ll often hear distorted Russian obscenities originally popular among Jewish immigrants to Palestine in the early 20th century. But foreigners are advised to avoid Yiddish colloquialisms (‘putz,’ “schmuck’) and similar Arabic expressions (‘kus ummak,’ ‘sharmuta’), It’s inadmissible to use the word ‘zhid’ [kike] when addressing any Jew, even if he doesn’t understand Russian.
“Visitors to this country should bear in mind Israelites’ extreme sensitivity to virtually any criticism of the state of Israel itself, as well as criticism of any aspects of life in Israel.”
Read the whole thing.
[language warning in below video]
