Oh I wasn't by any means intending to cast shade. I was just speculating on possibilities, from the phrase being more popular inland to the phrase being unheard-of for various reasons.
I don't speak Russian and have never been closer to Russia than Prijedor or Zagreb, so I am by no means an authority and I'm not trying to contradict anyone.
No problem, I'm glad to have such a great discussion!
By the way, English teachers in slavic countries like to teach very old phrases/memes. Like "raining cats and dogs" for the heavy rain, "wet blanket" for a grinch person. Also they can trying to tell something about cockney (which will never help students in real life)
So it's no wonder that some virtually non-existent russian memes could go into textbooks. But the "go to Riga" is not completely dead yet. Need to wait for a decade or two :)
Oh I wasn't by any means intending to cast shade. I was just speculating on possibilities, from the phrase being more popular inland to the phrase being unheard-of for various reasons.
I don't speak Russian and have never been closer to Russia than Prijedor or Zagreb, so I am by no means an authority and I'm not trying to contradict anyone.
No problem, I'm glad to have such a great discussion! By the way, English teachers in slavic countries like to teach very old phrases/memes. Like "raining cats and dogs" for the heavy rain, "wet blanket" for a grinch person. Also they can trying to tell something about cockney (which will never help students in real life) So it's no wonder that some virtually non-existent russian memes could go into textbooks. But the "go to Riga" is not completely dead yet. Need to wait for a decade or two :)