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Polite Fish

Elena Anosova

“Polite fish” is a phe­nomenon and an attrib­ute often met in Asian cul­ture– a situ­ation when two abso­lute oppos­ites are forced to inter­act and in that forced inter­ac­tion show both utmost polite­ness and act with extreme caution.

Russian-Chinese bor­der extends for over 4000 kilo­met­ers. Primor­sky Krai, the south­ern­most region of the Rus­sian Far East is where much of the east­ern Rus­sian pop­u­la­tion is con­cen­trated. Here Rus­sian and East Asian cul­tures and tra­di­tions his­tor­ic­ally coex­ist and this neigh­bour­ship forms the iden­tity of those liv­ing in the region.

Elena Anosova offers a glimpse into this dis­tant corner of Rus­sia and cap­tures pres­sure points in the exchange between two cul­tures and their mutual influence.

Tags: anosova, border, china, culture, elena anosova, far east, identity, Primorsky Krai, Russia, vladivostok