Russian avos'

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This article deals with the notion of the Russian Avos which is crucial for understanding Russian mentality and culture.

The Russian avos' (Russian: русский авось) describes a peculiar philosophy behind behavior, or attitude of a person who ignores possible problems or hassles and, at the same time, expects things to go smoothly all the way, or, as Nataliya Alyakrinskaya of Moscow News daily aptly put it in one of her articles, it is "...our [Russian] habit of trusting to chance and hoping things will somehow sort themselves out..." . This kind of attitude has been brilliantly described in Ivan Goncharov's novel Oblomov

The avos' attitude is believed by many to be intrinsic to Russian character (just as the notion of sud'ba (судьба) which roughly translates, depending on the context, as destiny, convocation, fate or fatum).

Avos' (авось) proper is a Russian word that can be used either as a particle or a noun. As a particle, avos' is close in meaning to hopefully or maybe (when talking of something hoped for and uncertain). When used as a noun, avos' means hit or miss, hope against hope, or something done under risk and in the hope for good result in the end.

Evolving Enterprise Magazine is right in saying that "Russian avos is more than a word. It's an attitude. Avos means all in one: by the seat of my pants, and let it be, and don't give a damn, and a lot more. It also stands for not lifting a finger until it's too clear it's too late." [1]

"The main characteristic of modern Russian society is the "vagueness of meaning" which is symbolized by the famous Russian "avos'", writes I. Kondakov in his article "'Smuta': The Epoch of Stagnation in the History of Russia" (Obshchestvennye Nauky and Sovremennost, #4, 2002). "Vagueness of meaning" connects all oppositions into an "impossible unity" and keeps the Russian civilization constantly at the brink of disruption or explosion." (Continent # 114, Review of Russian Periodic, Johnson's Russia List )

In his book The Russian People, Jacques Novicow (Yakov Aleksandrovich Novikov, a 19-20th century French-writing sociologist of Russian origin) writes: "The fact that the Russian people have this constant sensation of international insecurity has been the means of driving it to granting so large a measure of authority to the central government. As the officials have not been slow to abuse this power, the Russian people have been obliged to submit to innumerable vexations. Add to this, serfdom, which was introduced in 1596, and which has been the cause of the most horrible injustice and abuse. In consequence of these and many other circumstances, which it would be impossible for me to set forth here, the Russian people has in truth been one of the most unfortunate upon the face of the earth. History has stamped it with a large share of melancholy, combined with a profound resignation, and with a fatalism which is manifested in a thousand different ways. The Russian, at times, allows his life to glide along just as it happens, without even making an effort to react against his sad destiny. He seems to be constantly asking himself, "What is the use?"—to be constantly consoling himself with the reflection that "such is the inevitable order of things." On the other hand, when he makes up his mind to act, his fatalism causes him to have great faith in his lucky star. The "go ahead" of the Americans has its counterpart in the Russian "avos.""