Cultureshock! Russia: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Cultureshock Russia: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)

Imagine for a moment that you pick up a Culture Shock book for the US. Upon reading you realize that the book largely focuses on Washington D.C. Every example is about either D.C. or some small towns Indiana or Idaho. Other places in the US that would attract equal or greater attention, such as LA or New York, are only briefly mentioned and seem only to serve to show how much greater D.C. really is. The interpretation of history is glossy at best and the words "before the Bush administration" come up as often as city names. The culture and habits represented are interesting and helpful, but the rest of the book is actively biased and frustrating.
That is roughly what you get with the Culture Shock: Russia book. The sections on culture, social norms, views of people groups, habits, etc. were useful and interesting. The rest of the book, however, was infuriating.
My husband and I are moving to St. Petersburg so that he may pursue a Doctorate in Russian History. Coming...Read more

A wonderful insight into Russian culture both historical and current day. All very informative indeed. The best part of all being that it is written by a Russian (not a westerner) and therefore is free of preconceived notions which can colour the Anglo/American perspective of this interesting and very 'unwestern' culture.

While I dont think it is possible to write a book about every aspect of a country's culture, I think this one does give a lot of info in a format that is easy to understand. This book includes some general information about culture and customs but also gives specific examples in a humorous and illustrative way. It is a quick read and does a great job of explaining why things are a certain way while giving good background information.