Russia gestures · Gestures in Russia
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Gestures in Russia
Gestures in Russia
Smile at a Russian in the street and most likely they will not respond in kind. Smiling in Russia is traditionally reserved for friends; smile at a stranger and they will either think you're making fun of them and there's something wrong with their clothes or hairdo, or that you must be an idiot. Furthermore, an automatic Western smile is widely regarded as insincere, as in "You don't really mean it". While that tradition is slowly changing as Russia is becoming more Westernized, smiling is still very rare in customer service as sales assistants, public servants and the like are expected to look serious and businesslike. Hence the very common misconception about Russians that they are a very grim folk and never smile — they do, once they get to know you, and become very welcoming and kind. When approaching a stranger with a question, attempt to use Russian at first and ask if they speak English, Russians are very proud of their language and people will be noticeably more aloof if you approach them speaking English. Even just using the Russian equivalents of 'please' and 'thank you' will make a noticeable difference to people.
Women in the entire CIS/USSR area are traditionally treated with utmost chivalry. Female travellers should not act surprised or indignant when their Russian male friends pay their bills at restaurants, open every door in front of them, offer their hand to help them climb down that little step or help them carry anything heavier than a handbag — this is not sexual harassment or being condescending to the weaker sex. Male travellers should understand that this is exactly the sort of behavior that most Russian girls and women will expect from them, too.
While tipping traditionally is frowned upon in Russia (many will probably tell you otherwise), it is a recent phenomenon, emerging after the fall of communism, and few waiters think that it's up to the guest to decide how much he or she wants to tip. Should you leave more money than the exact total when paying your bill at a restaurant — particularly if it happens to be more or less like 10% above the total, which is the customary tip in Russia — it will be interpreted as a tip. If the service was particularly bad and you want to make a point, be persistent in your demands to get your change back.
Most importantly, do not give the locals an "OK" sign. This is considered very rude, and Russians may take it as a big insult. If you are unsure what it is, then you are safe. Saying "OK" is ok.
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Russia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.