Weird Russian Behavior: American Viewpoint

[peacetraveler22]

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of bed, in an incredibly bad mood. Everyone in my family is ill with the flu and my sister and her husband both recently hospitalized for unexpected sickness. Then I got to work and opened my favorite mindless website to see an article about my beloved Russians. Immediate smiles and laughter! The article is entitled "16 Things Russians Do That Americans Might Find Weird." You can view the original article here and copyright credit for most of the content below belongs to BuzzFeed. We've already discussed many of these behaviors in various posts, and some of them I've personally witnessed but not all. Let's take a look at some Russian behaviors that are odd to Americans.

1. Dressing up to go to the store.



"Russians, especially Russians living in cities, love dressing up. For example, a nice dress and some heels are perfect attire for a casual walk."

There's no doubt Russian women are more fancy than their American counterparts. Yes, plenty of American women dress up to go out to clubs, dates or nice dinners but in daily life we are more casual in appearance. Also true that you can go into many American supermarkets or retail stores and see at least one or two people walking around in pajama pants. This behavior I really hate! I love pajamas more than anyone, but who is so lazy that they can't take one minute to put on a pair of pants? Shameful.

2. Sitting down for a minute before heading on a trip.



"Once the suitcase is packed, most Russians typically pause and sit quietly for a minute before leaving."

This one I've never experienced, in fact the opposite. The Russian I normally travel with doesn't waste one second during travels.

3. Making really long and complicated toasts.



"Only the laziest of the laziest Russians will make a toast of "To Health" or something short like that. Seriously. Expect to hear anecdotes..."

All of my Russian friends tell me about these legendary long toasts, but I've never experienced one in person. In America, long toasts or speeches are typically reserved for weddings or other formal events. At a bar with friends, we say only one word - "Cheers" - before downing alcohol.

4. Telling anecdotes as often as possible.



"Russians might be in the middle of telling a story and then say, with relish, 'And, you know, this reminds me of an anecdote...' and then proceed to tell it, even if it's completely irrelevant.

See a common theme? Apparently Russians like to tell stories. :))

5. Congratulating one another on getting out of a shower or sauna.



"Russians say "S lyogkim parom!" (Basically "congratulations on a light steam")."

Unfortunately, I've never visited a Russian banya or sauna, but it's on my "to do" list. I like to be whipped with twigs. ;)) Is this true? You really congratulate each other in such a manner?

6. Answering "How are you?" honestly and fully.



"How are you?" in Russian demands an actual answer, not just "Great, thanks!"

7. Not smiling at strangers.



"In Russia, smiling at people you randomly make eye contact with is not a thing. Smiles are supposed to be genuine, to be shared only with friends."

We've discussed many times the cultural differences between the way Americans and Russians interact with strangers. This is the biggest culture shock for an American when they step foot in Russia. Rare to see people smiling at each other or exchanging friendly "hellos" on the streets. When you come from a country like America where it is common place, you get the immediate perception that Russians are cold and unfriendly toward one another when visiting.

8. Celebrating New Year's more enthusiastically than Christmas.



"The tree is for New Year's. Presents are for New Year's. Forget Christmas. New Year's is THE winter holiday in Russia."

This is completely different from America, where family gatherings and gift exchanges take place on 24 and 25 December (Christmas Eve and Christmas day). It's the main holiday of the year and New Year's Eve is party day, not family or gift day. One reader recently told me that the 7 January Christmas holiday in Russia is "just another day off for most people."

9. Constantly rewatching old Soviet cartoons.



"Nu, Pogodi!," "Bremenskiye Muzykanty" and "Snezhnaya Koroleva" are among Russia's favorites."

Now, this I've personally experienced! :)) My Russian friend has shown me several Soviet cartoons, and readers sometimes send them to me. I like them!

10. Calling all females "girl."



"If you want to call your female waitress, you yell 'girl!.' If you want to address a 50 year old woman, you can call her 'girl.' If you want to address an actual girl, you call her 'girl.' Any woman sort of a babushka is 'girl.'

Hmmm...don't know if this is true? Honestly I rarely understand anything native Russian men say to me when I'm on the streets or public places in Russia, and I speak English with all my Russian guy friends. In Poland, a bunch of drunkards attempted to speak to me in Russian when left alone for a second. Maybe they were calling me 'girl,' or something much more creative. :) I have no idea what they said to me.

11. Sitting down at the table for a meal and staying there for hours.



"When groups of Russians get together for dinner, they will sit down, have dinner and talk. Then they will talk some more."

I've never been to a formal Russian feast, only casual parties involving a lot of drinking. However, my friends tell me about these long, formal gatherings. Americans also sit and have dinner together on occasion, but it's rare that such events last hours. We're more mobile and casual. For example, you can read about my large family's Thanksgiving gathering and feast. We move around and talk to numerous people, not staying in the same seat for extended periods.

12. Always keeping your bags.



"Seriously, Russians never, ever throw away any bags just cause you never know when you might need one."

Okay, this one is strange for me. I've stayed in a Russian apartment twice and never noticed a lot of extra bags.

13. Preparing way more food than is necessary for guests.



"And most will have tons of mayo."

No difference here between Russians and Americans. My family always prepares enough food to feed an army. We like to eat, but I hate mayonnaise!!

14. Living with their parents.



"It is often that an entire Russian family - parents, children and grandparents - will live together in one apartment."

I can't say I've witnessed this either. Maybe it was true in other eras, but not modern day Russia? What about women? Is it typical for young, single Russian women to live alone, or they stay at home with their parents until married?

15. Meeting complete strangers and then becoming friends with them immediately.



"And then inviting them over for some tea after only 10 minutes of conversation."

16. Never showing up to someone's house without a gift in hand.



Yes! My Russian friend always brings wonderful gifts when he visits. No real difference in cultures here. Americans also bring gifts like wine or flowers when visiting friends or relatives for dinner or extended periods of stay.

So which Russian behaviors are exaggerated here and which are true? I wonder which American behaviors Russians and other foreigners find weird? Discuss.

See also my post entitled "Bizarre Russian Foods" for a good laugh!

Comments

[gella-key.livejournal.com]

Concerning Брат 2 it is also interesting to trace russian habit to answer "How are you?" honestly and fully in this movie. The famous scene there is when Danila (the main hero) asks his new friend in America, what does it mean "How do you do?" and after getting an answer he wonders whether everybody in America is really interested, how he was doing. His friend answers: "No, they are not interested" "So, why are they asking then?" "Just because. Everything is just because here, except for the money".

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'll have to order the film and watch it. Sounds like a good cultural lesson.

[gella-key.livejournal.com]

Indeed, it is really worth seeing if you want to get to know a piece of russian world view, although since 90s it has greatly changed, I think, but not in its core.

[asharky.livejournal.com]

http://nnm-club.me/forum/viewtopic.php?t=452423

That's kind of like with English subtitles can be downloaded from torrents.

I disagree with those who say that this movie is contrasted Russia and America . The protagonist of the film, he fights not with ordinary Americans , and the criminals in America. And with Russian and American and even Ukrainian mafia that exists in America. A normal Americans in the film shows great guys . The truck driver and other citizens . In general, try to look carefully and not biased )

The film, for us , it really iconic . Many phrases from it for 15 years as we have entered the everyday slang .

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I will watch it, but not stream for torrents!! I'm an intellectual property lawyer, and never take music or films from the Internet for free. :)) In America, it's very cheap to have a monthly movie service called "Netflix" where you can order or stream tons of films for under $10 USD a month.

[asharky.livejournal.com]

I got you. Everywhere has its own specifics)

Here are the figures for this movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238883/

[gella-key.livejournal.com]

Hey, remembered this conversation when seeing this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opinion/the-how-are-you-culture-clash.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OP_THA_20140121&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_r=0) in "NY Times". It's about how Russins usually answer the "How are you?" question. Worth reading :-)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Thanks! A friend sent it to me this morning and I read it. :)