December 13, 1996

Superstitious Russians: They Spit, Knock and Even Eat Bus Tickets

By By Dave Carpenter, Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - They won't shake hands over a threshold on Friday the 13th - or any other day of the year.

No one whistles indoors for fear of losing all their money. Praising a Russian's appearance or a baby's good health will prompt a knock on unpolished wood or - passers-by beware - three spits over the left shoulder.

In a country rich in folk tradition and shaped by centuries of isolation, superstition still has a prominent place in Russian life, even among urbane Muscovites.

The truly superstitious have been known to eat ``lucky'' bus tickets, when the sum of the left three numbers equals the sum of the three numbers on the right.

``I think Russians are more inclined than others to believe in superstitions, especially in troubled times,'' says Natasha Perova, editor of the literary magazine Glas. ``Now things are changing so fast, people are sort of clutching onto superstitions.''

Don't give knives or handkerchiefs as gifts. Never celebrate a birthday early. Don't show your newborn to a stranger until the baby is at least 40 days old.

And while Friday the 13th isn't special here, Fridays are: Never begin a new undertaking. Spitters and knockers don't always think they're scaring away demons. But they keep doing it - out of habit, fear of tempting fate or just to be on the safe side.

``What your parents taught you to do, you will do all your life,'' said university teacher Tatyana Alner, an avowed spitter when she hears positive remarks.

Right after President Boris Yeltsin's heart bypass surgery last month, his wife, Naina, got a haircut. It sent a clear message to Russians that the president was doing well, because it's considered bad luck to shave or cut your hair when a family member is in danger.

Everyone knows not to shake hands in a doorway. Step inside first, or risk offending not only your host but also Domovoi, the unlucky house spirit.

And talk about a faux pas: If you want to get off on the wrong foot with a Russian, give him a half-dozen roses. Odd numbers only for the living, please. Even numbers are for funerals.

``If I bring someone four or six flowers, they'll think there's something wrong with me,'' says Yelena Minyonok, a folklore researcher in the Russian Academy of Science and co-author of about superstition. ``Even numbers have a negative connotation in Russian folklore.'' Superstition is at its strongest in remote Russian villages, where people believe in witches and magic spells. They blame wood nymphs when their cows don't give milk. They blame health troubles on the evil eye.

Minyonok, who is compiling a video encyclopedia of village customs and folk traditions with her husband, says Russian superstitions come from a blend of influences - ancient Slavic paganism, Orthodox Christianity and the Russian nature.

``Russians,'' she says, ``are very sensitive to the idea of fate.''



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