People raised in different cultures tend to behave in different ways. It’s especially obvious when you’re visiting some foreign country and unfortunately this can cause communicational problems. Here I’ll try to describe special features of the behavior of Russian people that differ them from other nationalities, at least from Americans and Russians so called "lifestyle" in general.

First of all, Russians almost never hide their mood or feelings. If they worry about something or are just very busy, don’t expect them to smile. Smiling is an American tradition. So if you see sad or gloomy-looking people in Russia it doesn’t mean that something wrong or harmful has happened to them – they are probably just in a bad mood. On the other hand, Russians are never too emotional. It seems to be impolite to talk, or laugh to loud, or to cry in public. Some Russians, especially of elder age, are very talkative and they could start a conversation with you somewhere on the street not even knowing you. However most people never do it. If a Russian interrupted you while talking, he or she isn’t necessarily a rude person – interrupting is a common thing in Russia. The same could be said about somebody touching you or even pushing you somewhere in the crowd, especially in a public transport, which is usually overcrowded. People here use public transport rather then their own cars if they have any (usually there is only one car per family). Winters are cold which has a bad influence on an automobiles engine.

Russians usually have many friends and try to keep friendly relations with people for their whole life, sometimes, from their early childhood. They like to visit each other, sometimes occasionally, without any prevention. The owners of the house usually offer something to drink and to eat to their guest. If there is a party in the house, the owners provide all the food and drinks themselves. Among elder people sometimes it seems to be rude to deny drinking alcohol at parties – they might think that you don’t respect them if you don’t drink with them. Among younger people it’s not usually this way. Russians like to make and get presents. Many Americans are surprised of our tradition to give presents to each other without any reason. For example, Russians usually make presents when they visit someone whom they haven’t seen for a long time. After coming back from a long trip they usually bring something for their friends and relatives.

Talking about cross gender relationships, there are many men in Russia who still don’t want to treat women as equal, despite there were many examples in Russian history when women ruled the country. That’s why women have less carrier prospects then men in this country. However most Russian men try to act themselves as real gentlemen with women – they are always polite, pay for women whenever they go out together, and give her flowers and presents. Unfortunately this behavior is getting to be more rare, because now men make up only about 40% of the countries population. Russian women prefer to be called “girl” even if they are 30 years old. Many women look younger then they really are, because they pay alot of attention to their appearance.

People usually get married after finishing their education. Most young people in Russia try to get a higher education. In most families both partners work, but women also do all the housework and are responsible for bringing up children. Now it’s difficult to find a Russian family that has more then two children. According to the western standards most Russians have low levels of income. Most people in cities live in many stored buildings similar to western condominiums. The difference is that the Russians only own their apartment; the auxiliary premises belongs to the state or to a building company. Children usually live with their parents until they can afford a place of their own. For almost every third family, it never happens and they live with their parents until their death. Russians believe that people should support their old parents and parents should help their children whenever they can, for example, in bringing up grandchildren. Most people highly respect their parents and ask for their opinion about any serious decisions in their life.

Most Russians start working at the age of 18-20 (pretty late in comparison to other countries). Until the age of 18 they couldn’t even work with their parents written permission. In terms of carrier it’s difficult to find a good job without nepotism. Now the Russian economy suffers from unemployment, so very often people need help from their friends and relatives to find a place to work. The salary itself isn’t big but sometimes people get huge premiums from their employer. Today many people are working illegally but their number is declining. It isn’t common to like one’s job in Russia – in most cases people find it to earn some money, rather then to become a better professional. There are many people that do not work in their field nor according to their specialization. It’s almost impossible for a person to get credit in any Russian bank so people have to save money in order to buy something. It’s common to borrow money from your friends and relatives. Russians are usually good friends with their colleagues and they might spend time together after work.

Foreigners are unusual for some Russians because the countries boarders were closed for so long and they didn’t have an opportunity to go abroad. However Russia is a multinational country itself and now many people come here from abroad to travel or to study. Most Russians are not racist except for a very little part of elder people ad some young people without any good education. Some people have a thing against the Jewish and the Caucasians, but not many. Russian are very patriotic and they hate when somebody says bad things about their country despite sometimes they do it themselves.

Talking about free time, on regular days people usually do something around the house. Semi finished meals are still unusual for Russian shops so people cook everything themselves. Services need to be developed better because most Russians still repair all the techniques and even redecorate their apartments themselves. On weekends people go somewhere with their friends or just stay home with their families. Many households have country houses where they spend their weekend and vacations. Some of them plant something there. Russian men like to play or to watch soccer (it’s a favorite sport game here) or go in for some other sports, go fishing or do stuff with their vehicles. Many women attend sport clubs several times a week to keep fit. Of course, people go to night clubs, movie theatres, concerts, theatres and cafes. Most families can’t afford going abroad for vacation so they travel to the Black sea or to some historical city inside Russia, or just spend their vacations on the tourist base near their city or in their country houses.

Let’s try to describe some features of national character. First, Russians are very kind – some of them are ready to give the last they have to another person. They are grown up in a collectivist manner so they share everything with their family and friends. They are very friendly, outgoing and optimistic. If a Russian gives a promise, she would fulfill it, but sometimes it might take half of a year. Most Russians have a good sense of humor but sometimes they are very sarcastic. Sometimes they have too much patience for their relatives, bosses and government, especially women. They fight for their rights only if they have no choice. Some people don’t know their rights at all. Other bad features are said to have laziness and indifference. Actually most Russians are not lazy. They could do a great job in a short period of time, but it’s difficult for them to work hard all the time. Some Russians drink too much but to my opinion it’s not because of a national character. After disintegration of the USSR and following its economical crises, many Russians lost their jobs and property. Not everybody could go through it – some started drinking. Russians are not all criminals, but some of them tend to take “something that lies badly” (e.g. from work) and some officials take bribes.

However a national character is an abstract thing, a kind of stereotype. Real life of people is much more interesting and various from everything written about it. And, of course, you could know any nationality better only after communicating to its representative.

Written and Copyrighted; Not to be Shown.
Part 2 Holidays in Russia.