On Stand By

Russia is the promised land of endless bystanders, defined by Wikipedia as  "a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator" (sorry for the dictionary reference-start of text). In Finnish I call them "päivystäjä", someone on duty, watching and guarding. Usually these are men of all ages, just sitting, standing or squatting (the infamous slavsquat, check http://slavsquat.com/ to find out what it's all about) by the streets, in front of supermarkets, on their balconies, wherever. Ever observing, alone or in groups. Some of these guys are called "gopniks" (Гопники, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopnik), who seem to have a complete subculture of their own. In a city as small as Petrozavodsk, you see these bystanders everywhere. In Russia, unemployment is considered as the person's own fault, as from what I've learnt. So I guess there isn't much sympathy around for these men, unemployed and seemingly without purpose.

For me, these bystanders are a nuisance only when I go jogging. Because in Russia, when people do sports, they do it at a specific place, a gym etc. It's really rare to go jogging on the streets. When I go with J, I'm fine. But when I go alone or with my roommate (also a girl), the calling and yelling and commenting from these bystanders is endless. It doesn't seem like people are saying anything terribly rude, although I usually only understand "dyevushka" which means "young woman". But with time it becomes so frustrating. Just please let me jog (or hippo-crawl, which more close reality) in peace. When accompanied by a male, there is no yelling or commenting. Male company gives me some kind of  testosterone shield, that other men respect, too. The authority of the male protects me. Argh! More than once I've cursed the fact that I don't know any proper insults in Russian. Although, I don't think insults in lousy Russian would improve the situation at all, since then they'd know that not only am I a jogging female but also a foreigner...

Anyhow, back to my original point, if there was any. I can't help but wonder (and that's the most Carrie Bradshaw start of sentence ever) what would come if all these people "without purpose" found a purpose. If they would realise their potential and maybe employ their resources to change things. To improve the situation of their families and themselves. I think Russia(n government) should see these people as a potential threat, because when a big group of people with a lot of time in their hands decides to combine their efforts and get something done, anything can happen.