Russian culture question

[tricours.livejournal.com]

One thing that I've remarked several times when reading the blogs of Scandinavians or other westeners who've spent some time in Russia, is that they comment on how Russians don't smile. I've read lots of "I went home for the holidays and once again I was met with a smile when I went to the store to shop" etc. etc. Also one girl commented that some railroad personnel at a station where trains come in from Finland greeted her with a smile because "that's what they know westerners expect as good service". Do clerks and shop personnel in Russia not smile? As a clerk in Sweden or Norway it's practically written in your contract that "YOU SHOULD ALWAYS SMILE AT CUSTOMERS" ;)

At the same time, I met this Russian travel agent who's lived in the Caribbeans for the last 10 years and who thought service in Norway was completely awful. But perhaps he was comparing it to that of the Caribbeans, and not to the Russian one?

Comments

[tricours.livejournal.com]

Well, perhaps you eventually feel like smiling if you meet smiles all day? I know that for me it works like a catalyst if I see lots of other people smiling. But a smile means more than just "fun" to me, I will very often use a smile to encourage someone. When parting from a loved one, I will always smile for example, even if I am crying.

[max-i-moose.livejournal.com]

It would seem to me that smiling to a person in Russia is a way of showing that the person is special to you. Encouraging people to smile to the point where a smile is just a mandatory element of etiquette will depreciate it. It's like adding another paragraph to a hundred already in a protocol, but losing one of a precious few touching ways of expressing closeness.

It sounds more dramatic than I meant - but well, there you have a glimpse of the mindset of a typical Russian=)