The most striking characteristic of Russian communication is considered to be natural unsmiling. In the West, this feature is often not comprehended. Foreigners perceive it for demonstrating bad manners or disrespect for a person. This phenomenon can be explained both by the difficult climate of Russia, and its difficult historical development. Studying the behavior of people from other countries during communication, scientists identified several features of the “Russian smile”.
Smile look
Russians smile only with their lips, sometimes slightly showing their upper teeth. This state of affairs can be perceived by foreigners as an insufficiently cheerful facial expression. Often it raises the question: why do not Russians smile? A photo Joyful Americans are usually quite different. On them people show wide lips and both rows of teeth. In China, they even specially teach employees big smiles, for which they hold a chopstick in their mouth during training. To the Russian people, such a Western version seems to be something false, because such a facial expression looks unnatural.
Polite smile
Most Western Europeans use a smile as a courtesy signal, which is required when greeting the other person and throughout the conversation. When a person meets someone, he tries to smile more if he wants to show respect. In Eastern culture, it is believed that with the help of this simple facial expression, even negative information will be perceived more easily. So, an Asian can talk about the death of his close friend with a smile. It will mean that this is a person’s personal grief. And he does not want to upset his interlocutor with it. For a Russian, this behavior is unacceptable. Not knowing the national characteristics, someone else's facial expressions can be reacted extremely negatively. A smile of politeness is perceived by the Russians as something not very sincere, or even hostile. Such standard facial expressions for customers are called “attendants”.
Smile for strangers
During the performance of official duties, Russians dispense with smiles. In the field of Russian business, a friendly expression is considered insincere. Indeed, for the people of our mentality, a professional smile looks like an artificial mask. She hides complete indifference beneath her. In Russian communication, a smile is addressed only to familiar people. Our cashiers do not smile at customers, because they are not known to them. However, the seller will surely reward his acquaintance with his sympathy.
When a stranger smiles at us, this begs the question: “Do we know each other?” In Russian culture, any interest shown is seen as an invitation to start a conversation or to get to know each other. If a person does not want contact, he may simply not respond to the sign of attention. By chance meeting his eyes, the Russian will look away, and the American will smile. And this is normal in both cases. When asked why the Russians are not smiling, foreigners constantly say: at the sight of a cheerful person, a Russian begins to look for a reason in himself. He thinks his appearance is laughable.
The sincerity of the Russian smile
One of the reasons why the Russians are not smiling, Bright Side calls the absence of a good reason, that is, there must be some emotions to demonstrate feelings. At the same time, our people openly smile, showing a good mood or disposition towards the interlocutor. And the insincere manifestation of joy causes wariness and disapproval. Excessive gaiety is also unacceptable to Russians. Such a smile is considered stupid or defiant behavior. Among the Chinese, she is called upon to hide her hostile attitude and show her politeness even to a person who is not very pleasant in communication.
Is a smile appropriate?
For a Russian, it is important that the smile is appropriate for the situation. For example, it is inappropriate to show joy if it is known that the interlocutor had some kind of trouble. Also, during a tense situation, the Russians understand that now is not time for fun. It’s not customary for our people to smile just to cheer up their interlocutor or to cheer themselves up at a difficult moment. Russians even condemn the smile with which the individual tries to cheer himself up in case of trouble or grief. So, they say: "His wife left him, and he walks, smiles." Thus, they condemn a person. Although he is simply trying to find the strength to cope with a difficult situation. But this is not always correctly interpreted by others.
Causes
Sociologists note the influence of climatic conditions on the formation of habits and character. So, in the warm southern latitudes, the population, as a rule, is friendly, cheerful and smiling. But the truth is, when the sun shines in the morning, and the street smells of greenery, then the mood rises. In this case, there is a desire to smile. But in Russia there are not many warm and sunny days. And when there is slush and wind on the street that do not stop, and the legs are frozen for a long time, then the desire to smile does not arise. But cold and unpleasant weather is not uncommon for Russia.
Severe climatic conditions, a long struggle for survival, psychological characteristics of the nature of our people - that is why the Russians do not smile. The war is near, among other things. And the Russians remember this.
Possible envy of the interlocutors
Another reason to avoid smiles is a reluctance to envy the interlocutor, talking about his achievements. So, Russians often complain about failures and sorrows. But the joyful events of their lives are left only for loved ones.
The Russians are used to sharing all the nuances of their life in a team. It also served as a habit of watching facial expressions and not smiling. Russian people always work hard and fight for their existence. And therefore, a gloomy and troubled face became something natural. A smile shows that an exception to the rule has occurred. And a person has well-being, good mood or high affluence. And this raises questions, envy or even hostility. But in private life, people can be completely open. They are able to smile at their loved ones and friends for no reason. After all, the home environment is conducive to warm and confidential communication and a good mood.
Opinion of Russians about smiles abroad
Having returned after a vacation abroad, Russian people first of all pay attention to the gloomy faces of compatriots. They get used to the goodwill of people from another country. And they answer the same thing - they smile, even just by accidentally encountering someone's gaze. Russians quickly get used to such a joyful life. They feel like people that even strangers respect.
And then they return to their homeland. And they immediately remember why the Russians are smiling a little. After all, you have to return to working mode, managing to do household chores and communicating with relatives. And travelers forget about the newfound smile and are drawn into the usual rhythm of life with a tense expression on their faces. But even this frown is sincere. She is not hidden behind a polite smile, as people of other cultures do.
The opinion of a foreigner about Russian smiles
Canadian Luke Jones has been living in Moscow for 12 years. He travels a lot in the cities of Russia and is not going to return to his homeland. Jones says that working in Moscow is much more profitable than in London, as there are low taxes and a small number of competitors. The Canadian is quite satisfied with Russian income and his prospects. Since 2002, Jones has been working in the Moscow office of Antal Russia and is now a well-known recruitment expert. “Why Russians Don't Smile” is a book that Luke wrote during his time in Russia. She will help foreigners who are just starting their work in Russia and the CIS countries. After all, most visitors do not immediately get used to the Russian conditions of life and work. For so many years of living in Russia, Jones himself adopted many national habits, which was facilitated by the marriage of a Russian woman.
To answer the question why the Russians are not smiling, Luke Jones gave a metaphor. He compared people to fruit. So, the Americans in his theory were peaches: they are sweet and soft on the outside, but with a hard bone inside. And they will not allow anyone into this core. And he compared the Russians with coconut - a hard shell on the outside. But if you managed to gain their trust, then you have found a faithful friend. The lack of smiles among Russians is not something bad, because this is a feature of our nation. For the most part, people are very funny, witty and hospitable. After all, a smile and a laugh are two different things. And Russian people know how to laugh and do it very often.