Random Russia Observation #1: Change

Something that I've noticed in the (almost) 2 weeks since I've been here is that Russians hate change. Or, maybe more fairly, we in the US are far too relaxed about change while Russians have a healthy feeling of wariness for it. By change, of course, I mean the $.50 back I get when I pay for something that costs $4.50 with $5. Russians and Americans probably feel differently about change the state of difference and uncertainty, but that's a whole can of worms, and another blog post for another day.

Anyways, if something costs 40 rubles (about $1.30), I could pay for it with 4 10 ruble coins or 3 10 ruble coins and 2 5 ruble coins etc. (there's a word problem in there somewhere...) but I could also use a 50 ruble bill, which is much easier to find in my wallet, and in my mind, much more considerate to the cashier and the people behind me in line. After all, who doesn't get secretly annoyed when the person in front of you in line counts out exactly the right number of pennies. Even if it doesn't take a while, in the US exact change seems like a surprise, rather than the norm. Not so, in Russia!

On my first day in Russia, the cashier taking money for museum tickets admonished us because I used a 500 ruble note for 250, and so did the girl with whom I was visiting the museum. Why didn't I just pay for both of us? She asked us angrily. In my jet lagged/culture-shocked state, I couldn't understand why this was a better solution. After all, if I paid for my friend's ticket, she would owe me 250 rubles. How was that better? Yet I've come to realize that cashiers checking if you have exact change any time you don't pay with it is fairly common in Russia.

Now economically-speaking, I don't know if this is because there are fewer small bills circulating in Russia, or if it's a matter of relying more heavily on cash in general than in the US where you could buy almost everything you need or want with a visa. Maybe it's simply a matter of not being in so much of a rush. In Russia you should take the time to count out your change. In a culture that is stereotyped as being so cold and distant, maybe giving exact change is a small way the people try to look out for one another.