international mobility – RUSSIA (1 DAY)

 

Getting used to the country

1. Understanding Russia
•   The Russian Federation: central power, republics and regions
•   The importance of history
•   The 90s, an unsuccessful transition
•   The difference between the image of Russia abroad and reality
•   Putin’s Russia: social, legal and political context

2. Russian values and behaviours
•    The Russian identity, a mixture of religions, cultures and languages
•    Conquering of new frontiers 
•    Westernizers and Slavophiles
•    Orthodoxy, autocracy and Narodnost
•    Sense of the sacred; between the search for the absolute and immediate enjoyment
•    The weight of the given word and the submission to the balance of power

 

Getting used to socialisation patterns

3. Russian communication styles
•   Direct relationships
•   Imperative vs. unsaid, the implied and allusive communication
•   Addressing your contacts: names, surnames and nicknames 
•   Gestures
•   Diction and humour

4. Living and socialising  with the Russians
•   Life in Russia: the so-called “système D”, corruption, predation, kleptocracy
•   The family as a defence zone
•   Habits and customs: particularism
•   Socialising: getting to know people, getting acquainted, taboos and sensitive subjects
 

ADAPTING TO EVERYDAY LIFE

 

5. Expatriate life in Russia
•    Moving and everyday life: procedures, accommodation, health, etc
•    Leisure, expat communities
•    Schools, extracurricular activities, sports.

6. Focus on your expatriation city (Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, ...)
•    Getting your bearings, moving around the city
•    Unmissable things to see and do

7. Making your expatriation a success
•    Preparing for adaptation phases
•    Practical advice, questions-answers
•    Action plan: plan and objectives for the expatriate and their family.