Okay, so one of the most annoying things about Russia is the attitude towards sharing -- music, that is.
Russia has a different attitude toward cell phone ettiquette. People don't turn off or silence their cell phones with the same vigilance shown in the US. Had a conversation with one of the Russian professors about this one day, and he suggested that Russians see (or saw in the recent past) possession of a cell phone as much more of a status symbol than Americans do.
I think it might go deeper than this. Virtually anytime I'm trying to study at the Institute -- there's a small group of Russian students playing music quite loudly on there computers. (Occasionally, I think to myself -- hey, some Soundgarden could totally drown out this second rate emo. I, however, have yet to enter into a speaker war that my decrepit computer would probably lose anyway. It's just a standing temptation.)
The same thing happens on the bus when people have an Mp3 player with speakers. Apparently, headphones aren't necessary -- you should do your fellow passengers the favor of sharing the second rate emo and punk. (Or rap -- however, the guys switching between FiftyCent and Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" were amusing -- I think they didn't realize Weird Al was a parody.)
I personally think that it would be hysterical to start playing "The Sound of Silence" on my pocket PC without headphones. But, the language barrier would kill the significance, and why antagonize babushki.
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