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Society, Russia

A Russian tourist at the reception desk. Photo from website liveinternet.ru

Every other Russian tourist is kleptomaniac

There is something mystical about Russian pilferage, in addition to a banal craving for gain. People try to grab everything: office paper clips, ballpoint pens, rolls of free plastic bags in the shops, 3D-movie glasses in cinemas… I'm talking completely inscrutable pilferage without any reasonable purpose. Let's agree, just for instance, that we should not need those stupid 3D glasses if they can work only in movie theatres. In general, the so-called kleptomania, a desire to grab even the most useless object, is probably intrinsic to most Russians.
  
According to recent international studies, every other Russian is prone to petty theft. While getting rest overseas, our compatriots try to take literally everything from the long-awaited weekend. They snitch bathrobes, slippers, shampoo and towels from the hotel as allegedly a keepsake. Many people like to save food from a buffet table (which is a usual service at most hotels), but cutlery tends to vanish along with the food. In addition, hotels are always missing ashtrays and other trifles with the emblem of the guesthouse. By the way, the management of many hotels does not mind that branded towels, matches, combs and other inexpensive items get stolen. Business has long understood that these little things are a good way to advertise their hotels around the world. And the hotel budget is sure to have some teaspoons destined to be stolen in the coming fiscal year. Therefore, these guesthouses have nothing to lose from this frequent stealing, and vice versa – they get the status, a sort of 'quality mark', as no one would pilfer poor things!
  
In the arsenal of guests from Russia there are some tricks that help them cheat the hotel clerks and profiteer from an extra portion of 'gifts'. In order to get a special hotel offer, our compatriots regularly pretend to be newlyweds. 11% of Russians and 10% of Spaniards have at least once resorted to this trick. The reward to fans of portraying themselves in love on a honeymoon is a bottle of champagne and fruits as a gift from the hotel.
  
Besides, Russians are more often than other tourists apt to 'steal' names. In addition to the commonplace Smirnov, Petrov and Ivanov, our compatriots are not afraid to impersonate a bearer of the presidential name Medvedev: 6.3% of Russians tend to do this at check-in.
 
Well, shouldn't we really put pilferage on a Russian business card? Not the orthodoxy with national ethos, not the very good education and not even samovars with gingerbread: all those candidates could not stand the test of time, nor could they unite all Russians – from housewives to executives and from physics to lyricists – under a single banner.
 
In general, hotels usually have an S rule, when guests may take home all the things from their room starting with that letter as souvenirs. The list features such items as Soap, Shampoo, Shower gel, Shower cap, Sewing kit (a needle with thread), Stationery, Shoe Shine kit, Slippers...
  
As to slippers, by the way, many hoteliers are even happy if the tourists take them away. The fact is that these items are always disposable. But hotel employees often feel bad about throwing them to the dogs; besides, slippers take up too much space in the trash.
  
In addition to the items starting with letter S, hoteliers usually do not mind if tourists carry away newspapers and magazines. Still travelers should always remember that rules and regulations may vary in different countries and hotels, and sometimes even a petty theft may result in a criminal penalty.

By Lyubov Yu. Moskvina, BCM.ru staff writer
All publications by this author (20)