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Russian Information Guide |Rus-a| Tips for foreigners in Russia| Russian Sizes and Measurements
Russian sizes and measurements
Everybody knows that russian soul is weird and mysterious. Our great culture and especially our beloved and world famous autors formed this opinion and distributed around the world. You might assume that I just have repeated a stereotype, but in reality our heads are full of philosophic ideas.Despite this fact, don't be afraid. Some things taking place in Russia are simple to the point of insanity: for example, different measures and sizes.
This article will tell you about them.
Do you know that there are absolutely different units of measurement in Russia? Leave in the pastmiles, inches, pounds, ounces. And by the way, our unpredictable weather we measure in Celsius.
Weight and Length Standards
Russian measuring system of length is metric (centimeters, meters and kilometers), so they do not use inches (inch = 2.54 cm) or feet (2 in = 30.48 см) in Russia. We use grams and kilograms as the measuring system of weight, and Russians are not familiar with ounces (ounce = 28.35 g (16 ounces = 450 grams = pound) or pounds. Liquids are measured in liters (for example, a can of cola consists 0.3 liters,), rather than gallons, though strangely enough alcoholic drinks are measured in grams. Do not forget about this when you buy gasoline in Russia, as it is also measured in liters (there are about 4 liters in a gallon).
Temperature Standards
Unlike in Fahrenheit-oriented countries, temperature in Russia is measured in Celsius, or Centigrade (which is a former name for Celsius). Or order to convert Fahrenheit into Celcius, use the following formula: Celsius Temperature = (5:9) x (Fahrenheit Temperature-32).
Clothing sizes
Now let's pay attention to pleasant household matters and get acquainted with the Russian sizes of clothes. Who knows, maybe you'll have to buy a down jacket and a fluffy shawl here. Russian clothing sizes are barely standard. They are usually based on the diameter of the waist in centimeters. The measure for the women’s sizes in Russia is the half chest in centimeters. Sometimes other measures like waist and thigh diameter may be considered as well.The men’s sizes in Russia are based on the combination of four measures: height, chest, waist diameter and length for pants. The biggest men’s shoe size produced in Russia is 48, which correspond to 14 in the US system. Shoe sizes are the measurement of the foot in special units called ‘shtih’, which is equal to 2/3 cm.
Some indicators are given in an approximate value. On the labels you can find abbreviations and guess the full name. To translate the desired unit into the required lengths, meters, liters, and kilograms and other weight measures, you can use rounding, dividing, and multiplying.
All this seems to be complicated only by the first sight, but even if you forget this, just know that Russians are very friendly people and they will be honored to help you in any store or in any difficult situation.
By Ksenya Karpova
VODKA. Things you should know before drinking!
The world's most famous spirit – vodka. Every year people consume 4,5 milliards of liters, but do we know HOW to drink it to feel the taste and stay alive?
Journalist of Rus-a Media Seda Kasparova had a frank talk on traditional Russian spirit to… neurorehabilitologist. Preparing a funny afterpaty literacy campaign for colleagues at the Swiss medical conference Mr. Anton Klochkov was surprised to see that foreigners know nothing about the most consumable alcoholic drink in the world. He shares his investigations and describes vodka from medical and social points of view.
Vodka – is a social drink.
You can sip cognac alone, but if you happen to drink vodka with no company – it means you have real problems. It means that you are doing so bad that you cannot stand your own company in sober mind. It takes only three person to create an ideal vodka-drinking team. The balance helps to keep friendly atmosphere and prevent communication tension.
Vodka is a binge of “shots”.
You can have your pleasure delay enjoying the taste of a glass whiskey for the whole eve, but with vodka, you need to be fast.
Vodka should be warm!
Oh, yes. There is no need to keep it in the fridge before the party. You should freeze the glasses. It is only when drinking room temperature spirit from ice-cold glasses you can feel its aroma, texture and taste.
Vodka vs Sweets.
Having snack is an obligatory thing when you drink alcohol, especially vodka. However, unlike whiskey or cognac it is always better to have an appetizer before a shot of vodka. You can choose potato salad or rye bread with butter to create a so-called protective film in your stomach and prevent fast absorption of alcohol. As a snack for a long distance party – choose salted but not marinated cucumbers. You can also have fish, meat or try Leonid Brezhnev’s favorite snack – a piece of dark bread with red and black caviar. What you need to avoid is sweets. When you drink alcohol and eat chocolate, your digestive system gets the signal to split the most caloric dish (sweet one) and forget about the alcohol that is why you can get drunk much faster.
Hangover prevention is real
If you follow the ideas we suggest you have more chances to feel good in the morning. But if you have hangover – there is one good thing that can help. Look for the jar of salted cucumbers you had yesterday and drink the brine or salty mineral water. It will help to restore water-salt balance after having a drink.
Vodka may kill you in winter
If you want to keep warm with vodka when you are outside in winter fishing, hunting, walking in the wood – you may die. The reason is quite physical. When it is cold outside our body turns the “Ultimate survival” regime on. It drives blood to vital organs (heart, lungs, brain, liver) and distracts it from toes and fingers, that is why we feel cold in this parts. When you drink alcohol your blood vessels dilate, warmth gets back to fingers and toes leaving your heart cold. You can only have 50 grams of vodka when you come home after cold, spooning hot soup as well. In any other case – refuse spirit and choose tea.
Some people are not resistant to vodka
It is true that people of different nations have digestive peculiarities and may lack active enzymes that break down alcohol. That is why almost half of Japanese, Chinese and Koreans as well as people of Arabic region may not feel comfortable after having alcohol. Moreover women have less enzymes of such kind than men as well. So if you happen to be in an international community – it is better not to rush and respect food and drink preferences of other people.
