Entertainment in Russia

Russians are less varied than Americans in entertainment. They don't go to the movies often, or go to try new bars/restaurants. Rather, they do the same few activities over-and-over again.
A couple of weeks ago, I was curious as to what young Russians did for fun. So I sent a text message from my mobile phone to a Russian. I asked my friend "What do young people do for fun around here?" The response that I recieved was, "ha-ha. I'll tell u what they do. They drink!"
Now, beer is replacing vodka as the drink of choice among young people.
Of course, TV is also very popular. Unlike in the US, Russians don't readily invite people over to their houses. It seems rather uncommon (as the ACTR explained during orientaion), to go to a friends house and rent a movie/watch a program. It is unimaginable that a mixed group, of guys and gals, would ever congregate in a home.
Instead, roaming the streets is popular. Hours-and-hours of walking. It is cheap, and allows you to socialize. I would easily say that I have walked more than 6 miles in one evening, "for fun". There is no fixed destination, just walking.
I only get 2-4 TV channels, but they have relatively varied programs. There is the news, (lots of) soap operas, (many) (lousy) American films (dubbed into Russian), and they have the equivalent of Candid-Camera that is very popular.
Soap operas are my favorite. They are easy to follow. The themes aren't very deep. And they don't use very complex vocabulary. A student of Russian can readily understand what is going on in a soap opera. Alternatively, the news is nearly impossible. I have never seen a newscaster speak so fast in the US. There lips look like a humming birds' wings. It is really remarkable how quickly they speak. If I don't understand a word that the newscaster uses, they are already on the next story before I figure it out.
Russians also seem to appreciate reading. It seems that the most popular genre is detective novels. Everyone reads detective novels. They are also probably one of the easier genres for students of Russian.
Poka!