Надо сократить текст кратко но при этом оставить суть. russian people and their lifestyle russians consider themselves a well-educated nation. they read a lot, and will be very surprised if you tell them you have not read pushkin or tolstoy! books in russia are cheap, and most people can afford to buy 5-10 books a month without serious damage to the family budget. russians are also very fond of live performances at the theatre, and since tickets are affordable (the prices in cinemas and theatres are comparable), a stunning range of options is available to everyone, including opera, symphony concerts, musicals, ballet, drama, etc. every city has at least one theatre. the theatre culture was developed during soviet times when tickets were sold through schools and businesses: cities were divided into neighbourhoods and there was a theatre agent responsible for each particular neighbourhood. the agent would distribute tickets to every business and school in his area, and the person responsible for the "culture sector" would organize collective visit to the theatre. also, attending performances in a group is always much more fun, which contributed to the popularity of theatres. this is how most russian people developed their taste for live performances. nowadays, there is a growing variety in the types of theatre performances available, extending from russian plays and shakespeare, to gypsies and contemporary interpretations, and everything imaginable in between. cinemas are becoming more and more popular in russia and today they are equipped with the latest sound systems. during soviet times, there was a well-developed system of community work, and in every group (class at school, department at work, etc.) there was a person responsible for sports, education, political information, etc. people that performed these tasks were given benefits (free or discounted travel, ability to buy rare goods, a better apartment, etc). in this period, everything belonged to the state, and the state controlled distribution and awarded the most active citizens. only after perestroika did property become privatised. the system of volunteering was largely broken with perestroika, but russians still have an unwavering community spirit (which sometimes goes to lengths a westerner would consider as infringement).
Russians consider themselves a well-educated nation. They read a lot. Books in Russia are cheap, and most people can afford to buy 5-10 books a month. Russians are also very fond of live performances at the theatre, a stunning range of options is available to everyone, including opera, symphony concerts, musicals, ballet, drama, etc.
Every city has at least one theatre. The theatre culture was developed during Soviet times. The agent would distribute tickets to every business and school in his area, and the person responsible for the "culture sector" would organize collective visit to the theatre. This is how most Russian people developed their taste for live performances. Nowadays, there is a growing variety in the types of theatre performances available, extending from Russian plays and Shakespeare, to gypsies and contemporary interpretations. Cinemas are becoming more and more popular in Russia.
During Soviet times, there was a well-developed system of community work, and in every group. In this period, everything belonged to the State, and the State controlled distribution and awarded the most active citizens. Only after Perestroika did property become privatised. The system of volunteering was largely broken with Perestroika, but Russians still have an unwavering community spirit.