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They will remind you about such Russians as Mendeleev, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Stanislavsky and Tchaikovsky. However, this will not be just the parade of Russian talents – they would mean that most of Russian people are very familiar with works f the above individuals. Russians also know more about European arts than the Brits.

I personally had to study Russian classics at school very deeply. However, in my opinion, it is not that suitable for a teenager to read Crime and Prejudice. I am absolutely certain that Dostoevsky wrote his masterpiece for adults rather than for teenagers. The same with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy… One of my university friends used to be a DJ on a radio. I used to listen to her program while I drove my car to my office. Once she suddenly said – “Well, thanks to our Soviet school, they made us hate all Russian classics!”, and she was so right. That felt like she was reading my mind.

By the circumstances of life my daughter had to swap Russian and English schools for a few times. Looking at all tortures she had to go through, I, for example, was always upset that there was no IT class in her Russian school. I believe it is simply impossible to live without the virtual world nowadays. On the other hand, I knew that her studies at Russian school are more intensive.

At her lessons of Maths, she would have gone through quite complex calculations. Even so, would she need them after school? Or, she would be like me – stuffed with the knowledge I never had a chance to use in my life?

The focal point of my disappointment with the Russian education was when we started to prepare my daughter back to her English program. We opened a book of Maths for the year 8… Guess what? The year 8 program starts from studying basics of Project Management. As a task my daughter, for example, had to find Critical Path for cooking a cake. I find this is amazing, because Project Management might not be needed for everyone on a professional level, but we use it more or less in our day-to-day routine life.  It helps when we plan repainting our living room, or organizing a party or moving a house.

The conclusion is: the Russian education might be a very deep and sophisticated one, but it is simply out of date. And while Russian kids still memorize long poems by heart, their English fellows study basics of business. That is why I would definitely vote for English education!

Winter

Once upon a time in South Korea, where I went on my regular business trip, I was asked by some local man – “Do you have four seasons in Russia?”

Spring

This question, which seemed to be so obvious, had suddenly turned me into a deep thinking for a moment. Certainly, for me it was normal that Mother Nature created for us four seasons to live throug a year. But apparently not all countries experience the same…

Summer

In England, for example, they have a joke. There is only one season in England – it is either spring or autumn, and which one exactly – depends only on your own mood…

Autumn

I was explained once at Annabel’s private club, 44 Berkeley Square, that there is a silent policy for visitors. If a woman who is on her own, or a few women are staying around the bar, it is a sign for all male visitors that they are open for approach and happy to make new acquaintances. If those women are sat around a table that means they require privacy and have already got a company for the evening. In case somebody tries to get in contact with tem, the well-trained staff will make sure the invader is fairly quickly cut off his chance.

Does this Sign Of Availability exist in other places as well or it is just for Annabel’s?

Or, to be precise, men do not shake hands with women. Historically shaking hands is seen in Russian as a very masculine sign. It is for real men only.

I confused myself with passing my hand to some Russian men at different business meetings. They did not expect it so much that my hand just hang in the air for a few times.

And women do not mind. Men kiss their hands more often in Russia though.

Next time I will tell you how to make most of men kissing your hand, at least in Russia…

Women shaking hands

Women's scarves

Pavlovsky Posad is the most famous Russian manufacturer of scarves wraps and shawls. Tourists of Russia often return with their scarves and shawls as souvenirs together with other notable items such as Matrioshkas that are a symbol of Russian complexity and enigma.

The idea of establishing an in-house design studio at Pavlovsky Posad came alive in the 1850s. Up until the 1920s all shawls and scarfs were printed manually due to their large size, multicolour and complex patterns. Patterns were carved on large wooden boards, one for each colour. Typically it required at least three boards to complete one pattern, but sometimes there were up to 16 of them.

All designs were split into 4 to 24 fragments. The most complex designs required up to 400 applications to create one shawl wrap.

The factory also had their own colourists and compositions of dyes that were kept highly secret from competitors. The recipes remained the property of the colourists that created them.

printing, all shawls were placed into special humid cellars to mature and fix the dyes. They were then steamed and sent to home-based workers to trim the edges. Every single wool shawl, one by one, was treated by at least 18 workers to complete the full cycle.

Shawl wrap

In the second half of 19c the annual turnover of the enterprise reached 1million roubles, which was absolutely huge for the time. The company was employing 700 workers full time and another 1000 locals were engaged on a part-time basis.

After the revolution of 1917 the enterprise was nationalised and remained as an estate property till 1990s.

Wool Shawl

The Soviet era was also reflected in the patterns of shawls and incorporated some agricultural and industrial motifs although the factory still concentrated mostly on folk crafts.

In the 1980s the manual printing had been stopped completely due to the complexity of the manual production. This has now been replaced by the most contemporary and sophisticated printing machines of Europe.

Currently the enterprise produces shawls and scarves wraps in 23 main colours. In parallel with restoring old traditional patterns, the artists create new modern designs, based on harmonic composition of close tones, predominantly in beige, ochre, brown and green colours.

A vegetative ornament has now overtaken the more traditional floral pattern. Nowadays the factory produces a range of over 200 different designs of wool shawls and silk scarves, all made of natural fibres.

Pavlovsky Posad wool shawls and pashmina scarves are exported to Europe, America and Middle East. Oriental designs are particularly popular in the Middle East. Muslim women like wearing them as a head scarf.

Apart from heads these lovely accessories can be worn as highly detailed neck scarf. Some of them are even good to be worn as tops. Natural silks used for scarfs production are also noted for allowing the body to breath in hot climates and are therefore great for use on holiday.

Silk Scarves

Women's scarves

There is a long history of textiles and textile industry in Russia. Amongst the most famous enterprises is the two hundred year old, Pavlovsky Posad, the manufacturer of silk and wool scarves, shawls and pashminas.

The fashionable wearing of a silk and wool shawl came to Russia from the Middle East at the beginning of 19c. Shawls became a smart supplement to a female costume as well as a part of interior décor. The shawls and scarves were among family treasures handed down from generation to generation.

They first attracted the attention of the Russian upper classes as they were light, warm and glamorous. In addition, Napoleon brought a wool shawl to his beloved Josephine as a gift, and all ladies belonging to the Russian court immediately started copying her as an etalon of Parisian fashion.

By the middle of 19c woven shawls were replaced by printed patterns which made them more affordable for common people. A number of shawl factories opened in and around Moscow, and one of them was the famous Pavlovsky Posad factory which is still manufacturing to the same high quality today.

Pavlovsky Posad is named after the town where it is situated, was established in 1795 and had become the leading exponent in the industry by the end of 19c. Today, it is the only enterprise of its kind in Russia – it has the same respect as Russian Matrioshka and is a Russian national symbol.

Shawl wraps

Raw materials were distributed amongst village weavers who worked from home using their own looms and then plain wool or silk scarves were manually printed at the factory. The success of the Pavlovsky Posad has brought significant wealth to the local population. The factory has developed its own patented style and during the past 150 years has won all sorts of national and international awards.

The original style of the Pavlovsky Posad wool shawl was developed in ochre-red shades and had distinguishable floral or Oriental paisley pattern. The accents were traditionally made on corners where artists would place large and more complex ornaments. Following religious trends lots of scarfs would have a cruciform in the middle. They were traditionally square, with the fringe around perimeter.

In the 1860s, Pavlovsky Posad women’s scarves and pashminas were regularly supplied to the Grand Duchess of Russia. They also became widely available across the huge territory of the Russian Empire.

Women wore Pavlovsky Posad scarves wraps as a necessary detail of their costume – as a head scarf or neck scarf or as a shawl wrap. Very often scarves and pashminas were used as a fabric to create a skirt or a jacket. They were also often used as costume detail for a Russian priest.

Wool shawls and scarves

• English people who travelled to Russia or lived there – share your impressions;
• Russian people who travelled to the UK or lived there – share your impressions;
• All other foreigners who have been to both countries – tell us what you think of these two countries.