What life is like in the Russian Far East: 8 differences from the Center

Buckets of red caviar in refrigerators, bears on the streets of big cities, and China and Japan are visible from almost every balcony? In Central and Western Russia, they have little idea of ​​what is happening in the Far East – the region is shrouded in secrets and even some kind of romantic veil. In fact, in many aspects, life there is not much different from life in the Moscow or Voronezh regions. But, of course, there is also its own specificity, which is very striking and forms the basis of all kinds of myths. What is the difference?

1. Products are more expensive

Due to the harsh climate, agriculture in the region is carried out on a limited scale, much has to be imported, and therefore prices are higher. The price tags in Kamchatka and Sakhalin are especially shocking; the situation is better in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. /cti16g43v8ook8sk80woo408s.jpg” media=”(max-width: 549px)”>

2. Lots of Asian food

Korean, Japanese and Chinese restaurants, as well as shops with entire departments of goods from these countries, are commonplace for residents of the Far East. If in Central Russia all this can be classified as exotic, then there kimchi and japchaeeat more often than mashed potatoes with meatballs.

3. The dominance of right-hand drive cars

The further east, the more of them – in the Khabarovsk Territory, the number of used “Japanese” reaches 85% of the entire fleet. The ratio begins to change in favor of LHD only to the west of Irkutsk. /96/te/96te38ebx78cw8484cs08sg0k.jpg” media=”(max-width: 549px)”>

4. Fresh, high-quality and relatively inexpensive seafood

If you know where to buy. For tourists, of course, prices are higher than in Moscow. “Especially advanced” locals take caviar and crabs from poachers (alas, they still exist) for almost a penny, but this is illegal.

5. A dacha with a sea view

For Khabarovsk and Primorye residents, this is a common thing. They sincerely do not understand what is so unusual about them. But for the inhabitants of most of Russia, having a house on the shore of at least some reservoir or river is already an incredible success, and even hundreds of kilometers to the nearest real sea.

6. Strong economic ties with Asian countries

And the almost complete absence of Western imports. Everything here is determined by the geographical location – it is much cheaper to transport from Asia than from Europe.

What else to read on the topic

• Primorye Maldives: 5 heavenly beaches with turquoise water and white sand near Vladivostok
• In Vladivostok, I started life anew: 7 reasons why Vladik is now the best city in the Russian Federation
• Kukumaria, trepang and spizula: we understand the seaside cuisine

7. Nature of incredible beauty

Mountain ranges, hills, volcanoes, waves crashing against coastal cliffs – all this splendor was never dreamed of by the inhabitants of the Russian Plain, where for 1000 km in different directions there are only lowland forests-fields and lakes-swamps.

8. Bears walk the streets

No, it's true: bears and wild boars look not only into small villages on the edge of the taiga, but also periodically visit large cities. For the inhabitants of Kamchatka, this is generally an everyday reality.