Russian Elections
When I was traveling in Greece this summer, an Australian roommate of mine at a hostel complained that "Americans don't know anything about the rest of the world" Trying to dissuade her from this opinion, I wowed her with my extensive knowledge of current events. "Those are events, headline stories," she replied, "Who is Australia's President?" Blank stare. "You should know him, he follows Bush around like a puppy..." Blank stare again. Australia's president's name was no where even close to the tip of my tongue.
Everyone, however, knows the US president. Everyone, it seems, cares about our elections. Yes, the US president is generally seen as one of the most powerful people in the world, so maybe he or she merits being known... Or maybe the media has something to do with it.
Your average American could probably tell you the leader of England, France, maybe come somewhere close to the president of Mexico, the prime minister of Canada? That might be a stretch (Note: I don't know who the Prime Minister of Canada is, and I am resisting the temptation to google it for the purpose of this blog. I will do so after the fact).
When I first arrived in Moldova, many people asked me if I knew the president of Moldova. The first time it happened, and my Romanian was good enough to understand the question, I didn't know the answer. How embarrassing (It's Vladimir Voronin by the way... if you are ever interrogated by any Moldovans on the street in your town).
People in Moldova know about Bush. "Ce face Bush?" or "Cum cu Bush?" were questions I was and am frequently asked. (What is Bush doing or How is he doing). Besides America, Moldovans in general are also knowledgeable about the political happenings and elections in Russia, Romanian and Ukraine. One could argue that countries in this part of the world are smaller, closer together and therefore more interconnected, and that you have to pay attention to what goes on next door, or you could argue that Americans isolate themselves more than just geographically...
While most of the world is already caught up in the America-Votes-2008-Fever, part of the world -- the part of the world I am now living in -- has been focusing on another big-gun election -- Russia's, which took place yesterday. While there wasn't as much hoop-lah leading up to the election (it was pretty clear to everyone, it seems, who would win), for the past two days our television channels (2) have been broadcasting only about the elections in Russia.
I guess I just wanted to share this perspective. Many countries are directly affected by the president of the US, but don't have the right to elect him or her. Sometimes I think we forget we are the only "big guy" out there. Moldova is directly affected by the president of Russia, but doesn't have the right to elect him or her either.
From what I have seen, more attention was paid by my host family to the elections in Russia than the local elections here this summer. People voting in a different time zone, were seen to have a bigger affect on us here in Moldova, than people living 2km away. My host mom says that is because "something might actually come from the Russians", whereas our mayor "won't do anything." Also, Moldovans not too long ago were under Russian rule, or sorry, the rule of the USSR... it shouldn't surprise me that my host mother, who grew up during the USSR, looks to Russia as the political leader of our world...
I don't have a conclusion. But I will be thankful when the tv stops broadcasting Russian political rallies, which my host mother always calls me into the room to watch... so that I can go back to my regular schedule of not watching television.
Everyone, however, knows the US president. Everyone, it seems, cares about our elections. Yes, the US president is generally seen as one of the most powerful people in the world, so maybe he or she merits being known... Or maybe the media has something to do with it.
Your average American could probably tell you the leader of England, France, maybe come somewhere close to the president of Mexico, the prime minister of Canada? That might be a stretch (Note: I don't know who the Prime Minister of Canada is, and I am resisting the temptation to google it for the purpose of this blog. I will do so after the fact).
When I first arrived in Moldova, many people asked me if I knew the president of Moldova. The first time it happened, and my Romanian was good enough to understand the question, I didn't know the answer. How embarrassing (It's Vladimir Voronin by the way... if you are ever interrogated by any Moldovans on the street in your town).
People in Moldova know about Bush. "Ce face Bush?" or "Cum cu Bush?" were questions I was and am frequently asked. (What is Bush doing or How is he doing). Besides America, Moldovans in general are also knowledgeable about the political happenings and elections in Russia, Romanian and Ukraine. One could argue that countries in this part of the world are smaller, closer together and therefore more interconnected, and that you have to pay attention to what goes on next door, or you could argue that Americans isolate themselves more than just geographically...
While most of the world is already caught up in the America-Votes-2008-Fever, part of the world -- the part of the world I am now living in -- has been focusing on another big-gun election -- Russia's, which took place yesterday. While there wasn't as much hoop-lah leading up to the election (it was pretty clear to everyone, it seems, who would win), for the past two days our television channels (2) have been broadcasting only about the elections in Russia.
I guess I just wanted to share this perspective. Many countries are directly affected by the president of the US, but don't have the right to elect him or her. Sometimes I think we forget we are the only "big guy" out there. Moldova is directly affected by the president of Russia, but doesn't have the right to elect him or her either.
From what I have seen, more attention was paid by my host family to the elections in Russia than the local elections here this summer. People voting in a different time zone, were seen to have a bigger affect on us here in Moldova, than people living 2km away. My host mom says that is because "something might actually come from the Russians", whereas our mayor "won't do anything." Also, Moldovans not too long ago were under Russian rule, or sorry, the rule of the USSR... it shouldn't surprise me that my host mother, who grew up during the USSR, looks to Russia as the political leader of our world...
I don't have a conclusion. But I will be thankful when the tv stops broadcasting Russian political rallies, which my host mother always calls me into the room to watch... so that I can go back to my regular schedule of not watching television.
This entry was posted
on Monday, March 03, 2008 at 1:22 PM.
