Russian grandmothers: classification of a Dutchman living in Russia

Hello ATS!

Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful person - Mahil Snape. He moved from Holland to Russia a long time ago, married a Russian girl, and started a family. His wife’s family lives in the city of Volsk, Saratov region. He travels a lot to various interesting places in Russia, and maintains extremely popular blogs, videos and photo blogs on the Zen blogging platform and Telegram. He writes about himself: “I love traveling, I dream of seeing bears in Kamchatka and going hiking in Altai.
Marketer. Author of the book "Dutchman in Russia".
In my free time I play football."

He has 175 thousand followers on Zen alone, and many of his followers meet him when he comes to their city.

I want to share his article “Dutch in Russia: how I saw Russian grandmothers (and what distinguishes them).” I would like to add on my own behalf that in Russian the word “grandmother” has an affectionate meaning, reflecting love for them. Unlike the dry English language, which does not have such endearing shades.

So.

"Babushki are the center of many families in Russia. They take care of everyone and know exactly what is best for everyone. I have been watching them for many years, I have seen different ones, and I decided that it was time to write an article about Grandmothers!

Of course, I don’t know all the Grandmothers of Russia, so I will talk about those whom I met and whom I know myself. Maybe in this article you will recognize yourself or someone you know. It will be interesting to know your opinion later!

Shall we begin?

Future Grandmother

First, about future Grandmothers. She is not a Grandmother yet, but she really wants to, and therefore every second time she reminds her daughter or son that it is time for her to become a Grandmother.

But young people have study, work and freedom. "What could be more important than grandchildren?" - she thinks and maybe sometimes speaks

.

Mom for her grandchildren

Finally, she waited! And grandchildren were born. It’s especially good if you have a granddaughter. Although when the grandson is born, everything will be fine too. And Grandma can finally help.

When a child is born, the Grandmother (often on the mother’s side) is ready to give everything to help her daughter with the child. She will take a vacation, abandon the dacha with weeds (by the way, more about the dacha a little later), and even come from another city to help with the grandson she has been waiting for a long time.

(thank you, Mother-in-law Beloved!)

And it helps so much that it becomes like a second mother. Or sometimes even the first one. Mom is Grandma!

In my son's kindergarten, I often see grandmothers. And one boy has never even seen his mom or dad, because they work a lot. And the second mother, Grandmother, lives at their home and raises her grandson. And as I noticed, this is not the only case. I also know Grandmothers who sometimes take more care of their children than mom and dad.

Grandmother is a fighter against drafts.

Agree, what could be worse than a draft? Only cold milk when you have a cold. Or not? Children who walk with Grandmothers always wear hats.

And when they see that other people’s children are without hats, they will sometimes tell the inexperienced mom and dad that maybe they should put on a hat? (yes, I received such advice several times, and they also added that I should also wear it when it’s 0 degrees outside and windy).

And, of course, when children play in the room, it is necessary to close the windows “to prevent the draft.” It is also important to dress well when going out. But a hat on the street, of course, is the most important thing.

Grandmother is a doctor.

If the parents did not protect enough from drafts, and the grandson still caught a cold, a sore throat and a cough, then Grandmother, of course, knows how to treat it.

Starting from inhalation over a pot of potatoes and ending with mustard in socks. And also raspberry jam, hot milk with honey and butter and an iodine mesh on the throat (though I don’t know how this helps, but you can’t argue with Grandmothers)

Grandmother-nurse.

“Eat, son,” - although I am not her son, they told me this more than once. And at the same time, not only acquaintances, but also grandmothers whom I did not yet know.

For example, one day we were visiting a friend of my Beloved Mother-in-Law, and she was not expecting us. She was busy at the dacha, but immediately dropped everything, greeted us and sat us down at the table.

First, snacks, strawberries, raspberries and other berries and fruits. And then there’s delicious potatoes and stew. “Eat, son,” she said and put in a second portion of potatoes.

Grandma-dacha owner

And although sometimes you leave your dacha to take care of your grandchildren and strangers’ grandchildren, the dacha is, of course, Grandma’s everything.

Here she spends whole days and sometimes nights, growing the most delicious natural homemade vegetables and fruits, so that she can then feed her grandchildren and non-grandchildren.

And the food that remains is either given away or salted and stored for the winter (I still like the expression “roll the tomatoes”

Grandmothers are security.

And those Grandmothers who do not have a dacha, and their grandchildren have already grown up, can often be found in the yard. They work there for hours, and know much better than the police what is happening on their street.

In Moscow, I have not seen such Grandmothers, but in small towns I have seen more than once how Grandmothers sit together on a bench, communicate with each other and notice everything around them.

Thank you

Of course, I like to joke, but where would everyone be without Grandmothers? Thank you very much to all Grandmothers for your care and delicious food.

Of course, there are different types of Babushki in Russia, and I’m sure I couldn’t add all of them. Which Grandmothers still need to be added? And if you are a Grandmother, what kind?”

Reading this post by Michail, I immediately remembered my grandmothers. Unfortunately, they have long since passed into another world. but I remember them, I love them, I pray for them. Michail described Russian grandmothers very accurately and with great love. Great!

Thank you.

a reply to: RussianTroll

I would like to add on my own behalf that in Russian the word “grandmother” has an affectionate meaning, reflecting love for them. Unlike the dry English language, which does not have such endearing shades.

Grandma
Granny
Nana
Nanny
Mimi
Grammy
Gigi
Grams
Gran
Gammy

All English words for grandmother that carry with them affectionate and loving connotations which is pretty endearing.

So that's bullsh@t.

It’s a good job he’s not written anything that challenges Putins narrative. Otherwise he’d have fell out of a window, been poisoned or be locked up in Siberia.

originally posted by: Radchad
It’s a good job he’s not written anything that challenges Putins narrative. Otherwise he’d have fell out of a window, been poisoned or be locked up in Siberia.

You have confused Russia with the USA. It is there that there are mass political murders and political repression against freedom of speech.

a reply to: RussianTroll

Mass political murders and political repression against freedom of speech eh?

Well if you could simply explain all the defenestration that seems to occur in your beloved mother Russia that might be nice.

a reply to: malte86

A small, very small example:
1. Victims of the Clinton political assassinations. Everyone on the forum knows.
2. Victims of the “assault on Congress.” Everyone on the forum knows.

a reply to: RussianTroll

Well if its examples we are after.

1. The Great Purge 1936-1938.

2. The Gulag System.

3. Forced collectivisation and famine.

4. Deportations and ethnic cleansing.

All of which i think you may find Russia is buried up to its arse.

As history clearly illustrates and recorded.

lol yes Russians have grand mothers and they love them. What a shocking revelation.

Can you believe we love our grandmothers in the west snd even refer to them in the very same endearing terms you refer too? Of course not, or you wouldn’t have posted this.

a reply to: RussianTroll

originally posted by: Athetos
lol yes Russians have grand mothers and they love them. What a shocking revelation.

Can you believe we love our grandmothers in the west snd even refer to them in the very same endearing terms you refer too? Of course not, or you wouldn’t have posted this.

a reply to: RussianTroll

I hear Mad Vlad likes to spit roast dear old grannies at his santanic parties!!

originally posted by: andy06shake

Grandma
Granny
Nana
Nanny
Mimi
Grammy
Gigi
Grams
Gran
Gammy

And of course you hear *crickets* from RussianTroll over this.
Totally destroys his premise.

originally posted by: RussianTroll

originally posted by: Radchad
It’s a good job he’s not written anything that challenges Putins narrative. Otherwise he’d have fell out of a window, been poisoned or be locked up in Siberia.

You have confused Russia with the USA. It is there that there are mass political murders and political repression against freedom of speech.

The current and recent US presidents have been narcissistic psychopaths who serve their donor bases more than the American People. Many or most of them are criminals and should answer their crimes.

I won’t even get a visit or a phone call.

I loves the auld Russian Babushka's

Been there a couple times. Had a conversation with my ex's Babushka. She has no english, i had very little Russian.

But we giggled and laughed for hours with each other.

Fun times

a reply to: FlyersFan

Please contact Google Translator with your concerns, through which I work on the site. Numerous queries yielded only one result - "grandmother"

a reply to: RussianTroll

Idioms and figures of speech don’t translate well between languages as they carry cultural nuance.

Another western tradition is a grandmother to be called by a silly name that a baby called them for life.

So many families will have a unique name for their matriarch purely because a baby said something cute and it sticks.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I agree with you. But I am not a native English speaker and I find out through Google. But it only gives one option.

originally posted by: RussianTroll
a reply to: CriticalStinker

I agree with you. But I am not a native English speaker and I find out through Google. But it only gives one option.

But you were happy to throw this out...

I would like to add on my own behalf that in Russian the word “grandmother” has an affectionate meaning, reflecting love for them. Unlike the dry English language, which does not have such endearing shades.

a reply to: andy06shake

Lately it seems like the word grandpa and grandma means that they are conservatives that are crazy. I have my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids call me Rick. I knew fifty years ago that Dad and grandpa are generic words, if they are looking for me at a social function...them calling grandpa or Dad gets everyone looking....there is not nearly as many Ricks out there as Dads or Grandpas. My daughters finally discovered I was right about ten years ago, my daughter tells her kids she is going to have dad fix something and they think her husband is going to work on it. It doesn't help that my Ex wife got married four times, my grandkids have four grandpas. Plus, when someone says grandma is coming over...My wife would be their grandma, My Ex is considered their grandma, and so is my son-in-laws mother....No wonder this world is so confusing.

Plus, having my great granddaughter call me Great Grandpa makes me feel too old, I am just Rick to her, everyone knows who Rick is in our family.

a reply to: RussianTroll

You ride the Russian bear through the internet as if your country is the biggest, the most important, and its citizens the best of the best, when, in reality, Russia is just a blob on the globe, and its people are merely grains of sand in the colorful array of life that makes this planet unique. My favorite countries are Italy and Greece. Am I a traitor, then? The dry English language? No more 'shine on, you crazy diamond'?