A senior Moscow official is putting together an etiquette guide for young provincial women aimed at teaching them how to be charming, well-mannered and capable of finding "a decent young man" in bustling Moscow.
"The Code of a Charming Countrywoman," overseen by Vladimir Zotov, the prefect for Moscow's Southeastern District, is in its early stages, so details about its content remain sketchy.
But broadly speaking, it will provide tips to help young women adapt to life in Moscow, Zotov's spokeswoman Maria Yermakova said Tuesday.
"It won't be a serious law book but an ironic and funny text aimed at the youth," Yermakova told The Moscow Times.
She said the guide was first suggested by a young woman from Nizhny Novgorod who is participating in a months-long Miss Zemlaychka talent contest organized by the Association of Fellow Countrymen, a community-building organization headed by Zotov.
The participant said she had been inspired by the famous Soviet Oscar-winning movie "Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears" about three provincial girls living in Moscow.
The guide, which is being drafted by a group of women from several regions under Zotov's supervision, is to be completed at the end of the talent contest in October and then published online.
The guide will describe "the most popular mistakes" made by naive young women upon their arrival in Moscow, the best ways to enroll in school and what to do if you flunk an exam, Zotov's office said in a statement.
In addition, newcomers will find information about "decent young male Muscovites," where to find "those rare individuals" and how to make their acquaintance, the statement said.
Moscow authorities last month announced plans to compile a “Muscovite’s Code,” a handbook advising foreigners on how to behave in Moscow. The guide is to recommend that they speak in Russian, not walk around the city in national attire and avoid slaughtering sheep in the courtyard of their apartment buildings.
Yermakova said the countrywomen's code was not related to the “Muscovite’s Code.”