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Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

blog.properrussian.com

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Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#131

Post by swang »

zeteo wrote: post #114
crusso wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the article is claiming that to Westerners a smile is neutral and that to a Russian no smile is neutral. The article is making the implication that a smiling Westerner and a non-smiling Russian are expressing the same emotion, it's just that the Westerner is faking something. The poster to whom you're responding is actually saying that the no smile in Russia is because of an actual underlying difference in the em…

>the article is claiming that to Westerners a smile is neutral [...] The article is making the implication that a smiling Westerner [...] is faking something. I don't see where you got the second sentence as the article's implication. Especially since it's rather contradictory with the first sentence.

Because they are separate sides to the same thing. Westerners smile as a "neutral" stance, but to a Russian it feels disingenuous because smiling isn't "neutral" but is suppose to convey something.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#132

Post by fierycatnet »

blah32497 wrote: post #13

As a Russian-American this comes off as complete BS. I've seen this written before and it's always in the form of "It's not us that smile too little, it's you Americans that are fake and smile too much!". For one, Americans don't just smile to be polite. For the most part it's genuinely conveying positive emotions. Now I know this is going to be unpopular, but I think the real reason Russians don't smile is cultural.…

As a Russian living in US, this article was pretty much spot on. Let's not counter generalizations with more generalizations.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#133

Post by madsaylor »

I like when immigrants or wannabes shit all over theirs own people saying that, "it's not culture, it's just everyone is miserable and suffering, because of Stalin, Putin and gulag". I can tell you, fellow foreigners, this behavior is also part of culture for centuries already too.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#134

Post by fierycatnet »

kutakbash wrote: post #94
BetterLateThan wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't sound like a Russian. You don't think like a Russian. You don't know like a Russian. Russians don't smile because any person who smiles to a stranger either wants to sell something or is insane. Smiles are for friends, real friends - whopping 2 or 3 of them. "And if anything goes wrong you can be... No sense of community..." This part betrayed you. You don't know anything about Russia or Russians. If an Afr…

To be frank, he does sound like a Russian-American. They are often pretty dismissive of their heritage. Rightfully so, judging by your comment.

What does it mean to be a Russian-American? He left the country when he was 5? He was born in US to Russian parents? His comment is pretty ignorant. The article is fairly accurate.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#135

Post by kordless »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #128
legohead wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American who married a Russian and lived in Russia for a while, I find this article to be quite accurate. When visiting for the first time, I asked my (then-acquaintance) why women never smile at me. She said "if they smile at you, that means they are easy." Basically, they are saying they like me and I should introduce myself. Or, like the article mentioned, maybe I look funny. You are right in that it is cult…

Russians are racist? Care to explain further. That's like saying Italians are racist. What caused you to reach that conclusion?

Actually, Italians are racers: https://www.google.com/search?q=italians+are+racers

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#136

Post by mrjj »

da02 wrote: post #92
mrjj wrote: post #75

Hi, i'm Russian sociologist of culture. The conclusion about different culture code and semantic is right. But there is more some interesting things. Russians have really poor toothcare, and this is joined with non-smiling bidirectionally. There is nothing abnormal for Russian to have couple of missing teeth. I've seen a really rich people (for example owner of Rolls Royce fleet) with just a couple of yellow teeth le…

Have you written more about this and other culture comparisons (i.e. blog, article, etc)? If not, do you recommend any sites for cultural comparisons by other sociologists?

Sorry no, i leave sociology long ago and making software as most of HN visitors.

Very few of humanitarian science publications is translating from Russian, on the other hand things that opinion journalism is revealing often weird and politicized.

If you want some kind of overview of Russian specific, writers done this work better than scientists through generalized characters and situations. Reading cultural researches you'll be surprised by amount of fictional references.

I can recommend few for a not-dry reading.

N.Leskov "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" http://www.auburn.edu/~mitrege/russian-culture/lefty.doc This is short, partially based on actual events story about XIX century engineer. Its perfect crystal describes difference between russian and western mentality and engineering. I think its touching the russia-west problems not yielding C. P. Snow lectures about western intellectual life )

I.Ilf, I.Petrov "Twelve chairs" http://lib.ru/ILFPETROV/ilf_petrov_12_chairs_engl.txt about "entrepreneur" life in early XX. It's full of killing precise WTF persons and situations, that still filling everyday life.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#137

Post by agumonkey »

blah32497 wrote: post #13

As a Russian-American this comes off as complete BS. I've seen this written before and it's always in the form of "It's not us that smile too little, it's you Americans that are fake and smile too much!". For one, Americans don't just smile to be polite. For the most part it's genuinely conveying positive emotions. Now I know this is going to be unpopular, but I think the real reason Russians don't smile is cultural.…

I've read articles about Russian sense of community, no behavioral protocols, politeness or rules, but a simple yet strong habit of sharing both bad and good times.

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#138

Post by nyan_sandwich »

zeteo wrote: post #66
blah32497 wrote: post #13

As a Russian-American this comes off as complete BS. I've seen this written before and it's always in the form of "It's not us that smile too little, it's you Americans that are fake and smile too much!". For one, Americans don't just smile to be polite. For the most part it's genuinely conveying positive emotions. Now I know this is going to be unpopular, but I think the real reason Russians don't smile is cultural.…

> this comes off as complete BS. I've seen this written before and it's always in the form of "It's not us that smile too little, it's you Americans that are fake and smile too much!" Which is pretty much what the article quotes Russians as saying. Without agreeing with them, of course. >I think the real reason Russians don't smile is cultural. Again, you're agreeing with the article - and contradicting your subseque…

>How is this is any better than some Russians' generalization that smiling Westerners are duplicitous?

It might be more accurate

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#139

Post by 6cxs2hd6 »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #128
legohead wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American who married a Russian and lived in Russia for a while, I find this article to be quite accurate. When visiting for the first time, I asked my (then-acquaintance) why women never smile at me. She said "if they smile at you, that means they are easy." Basically, they are saying they like me and I should introduce myself. Or, like the article mentioned, maybe I look funny. You are right in that it is cult…

Russians are racist? Care to explain further. That's like saying Italians are racist. What caused you to reach that conclusion?

I don't think he means everyone who lives in Russia is racist. Just the ones of ethnic Russian descent.

^sarcasm

Re: Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

#140

Post by maharajatever »

Loving the passive aggressive half-arsed argumentative tone of this discussion. I can't see many people here smiling at strangers. Or friends... Or anyone.

Your German friend wants to see some miserable Russians? - go to the most expensive places in Western Europe - and those are the rich Russians. The others are just miserable by habit and because being non-miserable was bad style during the Soviet years. And yes, that probably applies to most of the Slavic nations (boo, generalisation, boo)...

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