Russia

Social Institutions Research Project

By: Benjamin Lau, Colin Hemond, Arik Tai, and Daniel Wong

Overview of Russia

Russian Norms and Values

Values Norms

- Families are very highly valued.

- Children continue to live with their parents into adulthood.

- Religion is respected, but not valued highly in all homes.

- Most Russians believe in the Orthodox Church, but only 20% practice it

- Strict and unforgiving towards soldiers.

- Soldiers are put through brutal training regiments and often receive harsh punishments.

Family Life in Russia•Russia's population was estimated at 143,393,000 in 1999.

•78% of the population lives in the area between the Ukraine-Belarus border and the Ural Mountains

•Romantic love is the only acceptable motivation for marriage

•97% of adults marry by age of forty. The average age at marriage is 23.

•Half of all marriages end in divorce.

•Domestic units tend to be multigenerational.

•Many couples with children live with a widowed parent of one of the spouses (usually grandmother)

http://www.wdphoto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/lt-0593-copy.jpg

Colin

Family Life- Relating to Values and Norms

RussiaValue: In Russia, family is highly valued, though most families try to become independent but are unable to do so.

Norm: Russian families are closer because of the lack of housing and high cost of new homes people live with their parents into adulthood.

CanadaValue: In Canada we value families very highly, but we value independence from others more.

Norm: In Canada we avoid living with anyone outside our immediate family (husband,wife, kids)

http://www.russian-victories.ru/russian_family_three_generations.jpg

Colin

Relating Familiy Norms/Values to Canada

- Multigenerational families could probably work for certain people.

- Canada’s population is very multicultural and certain cultures would shun the idea of multigenerational families while others would accept it.

- In fact there are many multigenerational families in Canada today.

http://www.russian-victories.ru/russian_family_at_the_feast_table.jpg

Colin

Religion in Russia

- Religion was suppressed by the Communist Government, but since the late 1980’s, it has been making a comeback.

- The official religion is the Russian Orthodox Church, which is practiced by 20% of the population.

- Other religions practiced include Islam, Buddhism, and other denominations of Christianity.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/09/article-1093096-02B9BF67000005DC-447_468x738.jpg

Ben

Religion- Relating to Values and Norms

Russia: Religion is respected, but not always valued in Russian homes. Between 50-70% of Russians believe in the Russian Orthodox Church, although only 20% practice it, so the religious norm varies.

Canada: All cultures and religions are valued and seen as important in making Canada a diverse and multicultural Country.

http://www.russian-victories.ru/inside_russian_orthodox_church.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Canada.svg Ben

Religion- Relating to Values and Norms

Russia: The four main religions are Christianity (includes Russian Orthodox Church), Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. However, Islam and Buddhism are mainly practiced in certain areas of Russia.

Canada: Cities across Canada are a blend of different cultures and religions. There is no area or region that is dominated by one religion.

http://www.russiamission.us/files/images/russiamap_0.gif

Ben

Relating ReligiousNorms/Values to Canada

- A religious system dominated by a few religions and beliefs would not be well accepted in Canada.

- Canada greatly values and welcomes a diverse culture and the religions of all people.

- It would be impossible to have a city or province that has one main religion as people of all religions live everywhere in Canada. http://www.richardseaman.com/Travel/Russia/Moscow/

Highlights/ StBasilsWithStatue.jpg

Ben

Military in Russia

-The Russian military has a long and illustrious history; much longer then that of Canada.

- This is due to the fact that the slavic people of Russia have had various military forces for thousands of years.

http://img294.imageshack.us/i/siemomys322ir1.jpg/

Arik

Military- Relating to Values and Norms

-The Russian Military is known for its brutal and unforgiving culture. During World War 2 the Red Army fought a war of attrition with Nazi Germany. To keep the untrained and underequipped soldiers from running away commissars were employed to use brutal means such as summery execution to maintain order.

- During the Cold War era Russian special forces employed harsh training regimens that led to the death of a number of soldiers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soviet_pressing_1944.JPG

Arik

Relating Military Norms/Values to Canada

- The Canadian Military has employed various tactics, and although some commanders (especially during World War 1) have used attritionist tactics, the wellbeing of the troops has always been a concern in the Canadian Military. Russian tactics would not work in the Canadian Military as many of the basic human rights that our country grants us would be violated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_paratroopers_106th_VDD.JPG

Arik

Government Overview

- Members consist of prime minister, deputy prime ministers, and federal ministers.

- Russian council of members became the chief executive body after the fall of the Soviet Union.

- Prime minister appointed by president of the Russian Federation.

- Government acts in the way of decisions.

Daniel

Government Comparison

Russia- Prime minister, deputy prime

ministers, federal ministers.- Government duties split

between 17 ministries, 7 federal services, 30 government agencies.

Canada- Federation of Canada is

administered by a common authority.

- The crown is the foundation of executive, legislative, judicial branches.

- Constitutional monarchy. Daniel

Conclusion

Bibliography

DROZDOW-ST.CHRISTIAN, D. (2001). Canada. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.)Countries

and Their Cultures, 1(pp. 397-416) New York: Macmillan Reference USA

Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale:

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=ko_k12pr_d63

RIES, N. (2001). Russia. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.)Countries and Their Cultures,

3(pp. 1850-1871) New York: Macmillan Reference USA Retrieved December 1

, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library via Gale:http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=ko_k12pr_d63

Scholastic Inc. (2009). Canada – Russia Comparison. Lands and Peoples Online. Retrieved

December 1, 2009, from: http://lp.grolier.com/cgi

bin/cc?templatename=/cc/ccframeset.html&property=land&assetid1=4061000&assetid2=4059200

CIA. (2009). Russia. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved Decmber 1, 2009, from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/