THE MYSTERY OF THE RUSSIAN SOUL
There are many myths about Russians. Let's see what do we have in real life!

Russians are anti-laughters

It is generally believed that Russians don’t smile a lot. That’s partly true, but it’s not because they’re not funny or happy or even rude. Unsmiling (неулыбчивость) is one of the most prominent national features of Russian communication.
1) They don’t smile at people for the sake of being “polite” because they consider this gesture weird and a waste of time. Such a “smile for being polite” can cause irritation and even alertness. Smiling doesn’t mean politeness.
2) Smiling at strangers is not accepted in Russia. But they will smile to their friends.
3) Russian will not always smile back at a person who smiles at him.
4) Russians usually don’t smile while performing their duties (customs officers, waiters, teachers, doctors etc.). They just being serious and concentrated!
5) Russians smile if they really feel like they want to smile or they have a strong reason for that.
6) Russian smile is believed to be sincere.
7) Russian smile at a person means good personal attitude to him.

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