Premier’s grandaughter lectures Southern

Dr. Nina Khrushcheva attends the reception and answers questions from Carole Seneker, senior speech communication major.

Dr. Nina Khrushcheva attends the reception and answers questions from Carole Seneker, senior speech communication major.

Granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, Dr. Nina Khrushcheva spoke in the first Gockel International Symposium lecture on Sept. 23 in Taylor Performing Arts Center.

Her main focus was how Russians think and act differently than Americans and vice versa.

“The [Russian] capitalist hates the consumer, the consumer hates the capitalist,” she said. “It is not like this in any other country.”

Russians often imitate American capitalism when it comes to stores, restaurants and food among other things.

She exemplified the capitalist versus the consumer scenario by saying how when you first enter a restaurant, there are guards outside asking you what you want.

“You don’t want to buy stamps, you want to eat,” she said.

Then once inside if the consumer were to ask for a steak knife, the server looks at him as if asking for a sword.

Since Russia covers a wide array of land, 11 time zones in all, she said, it is difficult for even Russians to grasp all that Russia is.

“Don’t despair. America doesn’t understand Russia; Russia doesn’t understand Russia either,” she said.

“Russia is a frontier and imitation culture,” she said.

“It is America’s superpower rival.”

Khrushcheva is a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute at New School University and adjunct associate professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.