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For those of you that have traveled to Russia, you may have noticed that Russians don’t seem to smile in public. Upon traveling there for the first time, my husband pointed this out and made some comment about people looking sullen. When you compare Russians to people living elsewhere, especially Americans, you could easily conclude that they are not happy. In addition to this, due to stereotypes and misinformation, many think that we were all communists, we are all alcoholics, we live under cold and gloomy weather all year, the KGB is everywhere, and that Ivan Drago was a real person. If you believe any of these things, you could easily believe that we are among the most unhappy people on the planet. Fortunately, reality, history, and experience will paint a different picture.<\/p>\n
Smiling for no apparent reason, according to some Russians, can make one look insincere. It can make you look silly; it can make people think your elevator does not go all the way to the top floor. During the Soviet era, Russians were fed articles and television programs entitled \u201cTheir Customs\u201d which focused on capitalists, their wretched bourgeois lifestyle, and their \u201ccontemptible smile.\u201d In a way, Soviets were taught that these westerners smiled as they robbed you of your wealth, grew their own wealth at your expense, and basically ruled the world. These smiles were meant to conceal an evil plot or something vile. Russians smiled at people they knew, not strangers. History has taught us that westerners weren\u2019t the only ones concealing something.<\/p>\n
For those of you that have had the privilege of being invited over to a Russian home for dinner, you know that we are capable of laughing heartily, having a great time, smiling, and much more. For many Russian people, it is just not culturally acceptable to be smiling while walking down the street, shopping, or riding public transportation. During the winter games in Sochi a few months ago, an American journalist noticed right away that people didn’t return his smile when he passed by them on the street. He then asked a Russian citizen why that was. “In Russia,” the man replied, “only two types of people smile: idiots and rich people, and rich people never walk down the street.”<\/p>\n
When you are fortunate to visit Russia for the first time, be prepared. Understand and celebrate the differences in cultural norms. Do not be surprised if elder women push by you in line for the bus; be prepared to pay more for certain things than Russians do, like gifts, hotels, and cabs; be ready to drink more vodka than you have since college if you are invited over for dinner. Be prepared to be immersed into a very beautiful culture, one that has had its share of ups and downs, one that values kindness, compassion, and humanity. If all countries and cultures were like your own, you\u2019d have no reason to travel to other places. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For those of you that have traveled to Russia, you may have noticed that Russians don’t seem to smile in public. Upon traveling there for the first time, my husband pointed this out and made some comment about people looking sullen. When you compare Russians to people living elsewhere, especially Americans, you could easily…<\/p>\n