Amely,
I find it somewhat different, however, perhaps it may be that I am now older. I have always had an interest in Russian history. I was adopted at 3 days old in the USA. My adopted father's parents immigrated to the USA from Odessa, Ukraine.
Dad always shared the stories that he was told by his mother and father. I did ancestry research on them in a genealogy course that I took. Dad shared the stories of extreme conditions leading up to the 1900's. These were disruptive political. It was not uncommon for sole proprietors and business owners to carry a hand gun to protect themselves. My father's father was leaving work one evening with his proceeds from the day. Once he was out on the street, he observed a Cossack on horse back cantoring towards him, waving an open sword. He shot the Cossack in self defense, and imprisoned for doing so, to Siberia. He escaped from the and returned to Odessa, to unite with his wife and other family. They immigrated to the USA in the late 1890's through Ellis Island, New York. I have a copy I found through ancestry.com, of the ship's manifest, departing from Europe. My father's family is recorded on the 1910 USA census bureau records, living in Detroit, Michigan.
I have also researched my adopted mother's family, who immigrated to the USA from England, however, they were originally from Poland. They also came to the USA in the late 1890's, and are recorded on both ship's manifest from England, and the 1910 USA census living in Boston, Massachusetts.
My mother's mother used to tell me the story of her mother, taking her to see Queen Victoria.
If your friends, or people that you ask , are not interested - try taking a genealogy class. They are often offered through a public library, or at evening classes at the college in your community. I wish you the best of luck!
