Russia

Social Institutions Research Project

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

Overview of Russia

Russian Norms and Values

Values
- Families are very highly valued. - Religion is respected, but not valued highly in all homes. - Strict and unforgiving towards soldiers.

Norms
- Children continue to live with their parents into adulthood. - Most Russians believe in the Orthodox Church, but only 20% practice it - 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.
http://www.wdphoto.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/lt0593-copy.jpg

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

Colin

Family Life- Relating to Values and Norms

Russia
Value: 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.

Canada
Value: 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.russianvictories.ru/russian_family_three_generations.jpg

Colin

Relating Familiy Norms/Values to Canada

- Multigenerational families could probably work for certain people. - Canadas 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 1980s, it has been making a comeback.

- The official religion is the Russian Orthodox Church, which is practiced by 20% of the population.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/09/article1093096-02B9BF67000005DC-447_468x738.jpg

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

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.

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

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

Ben
http://www.russiamission.us/files/i mages/russiamap_0.gif

Relating Religious Norms/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/Highligh ts/ 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.

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

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/