Medvedev visits Saint Petersburg

During the recent visit of Dmitry Medvedev to Saint Petersburg the local residents were honking and showing offensive gestures to his motorcade. Governor of the city (behind Medvedev’s shoulder) called the residents of Saint Petersburg “rednecks”.

Name calling is an expected reaction to offensive gestures. But would you expect it from a politician?

Well, this is exactly what happened to the governor of Saint Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko, who used an offensive slur to describe… the residents of Russia’s cultural capital.

He did so because of the unwelcoming reception of Russian Prime-Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Saint Peresburg, whose motorcade was “greeted” by middle fingers of the passers-by and loud honking from the drivers forced to wait in the traffic jam.

Such behavior Poltavcehnko described as жлобство which depending on the context can be translated as “redneckness”, “primitive behavior” or “greediness” (see more here).

Here is what the governor of Saint Petersburg said about the incident.

“When we drove through the streets of our city with the Prime Minister of our country, only the lazy ones did not honk. People were showing fingers. All that when the man came to solve the problems of his native city and our home town. I feel ashamed – not as his subordinate and not as his friend with whom I had worked together for many years, but as the resident of Saint Petersburg. People from other cities also do similar things. But such kind of redneckness I haven’t seen anywhere else” – said Poltavchenko.

In his opinion, it had nothing to do with the discontent with authorities, but with people’s bad education.

“This marks the complete loss of cultural mentality in Saint Petersburg. This is simply [bad] upbringing of people. And this is not something that the authorities should engage themselves in. The main factor here is family. The way in which they were raised by mom and dad.“

It’s worth to note that Mr. Poltavchenko is mistaken regarding the exclusivity of Saint Petersburg.

Here is the viral video from YouTube in which 2 years ago the residents of Moscow were meeting the motorcade of Dmitry Medvedev in a similar manner.

Comments of Russian netizens

The words of Poltavchenko have been discussed in multiple forums and blogs.

Gammer666:  It would be my pleasure also to honk and show fingers, but these bosses simply hand’t come to our place.С удовольствием бы тоже посигналил и ‘поднял всякие пальцы’, да эти шишки до нас не доезжают

GFF:  Cultural capital, in other city people would throw stones at them.Культурная столица, в дугом городе камнями закидали бы

ktototam:  Are they blind and stupid or what? Still think that people are madly in love with them?они там слепотупые что ли? до сих пор думают что народ от них без ума?

croatian:  Again people are not as they should be, again guilty. Actually, I feel proud of St. Petersburg.Опять народ не такой, опять виноват. А вообще испытываю гордость за петербуржцев.

P66g:  I am afraid that during his next visit, Piter’s streets will be empty, – they will be blocked at least the whole block from the route :) боюсь при следующем приезде улицы Питера будут пустыми — перекроют как минимум за квартал от трассы :)

andruxan:  What an idiot, if he’d shut up – nobody would know about it except those who were present, and now everybody knows… во долбаёб-то, промолчал-бы никто и не узнал про это кроме присутствующих там, а теперь знают все…

efys:  “This marks the complete loss of cultural mentality by Saint Petersburg.” He forgot how this mentality a century ago gave some merry time to authorities.‘Это полнейшая утрата петербургского культурного менталитета.’ Он забыл как этот менталитет век назад устроил весёлую жизнь власти.

[Note:  Russian Revolutions in 1917 focused around Petrograd]

Коляш:  In the news they will say that passers-by attached Russian flags to the middle fingers and that the drivers were honking because they were happy.В новостях скажут что к среднем пальцем у пешеходов были прикреплены флаги РФ , а бибикали водители потому что радовались.

Arsenius:  The entire squad is out of step, only the commander is okay, f**k…Весь отряд идет не в ногу, один командир в ногу, пц…

Stebun:  “I feel ashamed … as the resident of Saint Petersburg” Ouch, if you’d know how we are ashamed of you!‘мне как петербуржцу было стыдно.’ Блядь, а как нам то за вас за всех стыдно!

Karl2233:  So that is the reason – bad and uneducated people. вот она причина – это плохой и невоспитанный народ

sobor:  The bitches seem to hear us!!! Let’s continue!Слышат все-таки, суки!!! Продолжаем!

utilite:  He should go without motorcade.. closer to people, then I think the fingers would be stuck.. without showingнужно было без кортежа к народу ближе, думаю пальцы бы засунули без показов

DeniskoBalbes:  Why not to make flash mob and along the motorcade’s route, when it approaches – people would fall on their knees and bend down… Let them go nuts …флеш-моб замутить, на пути кортежа при его приближении на колени плюхаться и кланяться в землю… Пусть поофигевают…

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