Deeper reasons for the "unsmiling
Russian nation" - from the materials of "My Planet"
The first thing that surprises tourists
in Russia is too many frowny or even gloomy people. Why do Russians smile so
little?
This is actually true: we definitely
smile less than Western and Eastern nations. The "Hollywood smile"
(as Russians refer to the typical white and wide smile of Americans) is as
foreign to Russians as the pleasing polite smile of some Asian countries.
According to the researchers of
communicative behaviour natural "unsmiliness" is one of the most
mysterious qualities of the Russian culture. This particularity is often
perceived as a bad education or even lack of respect towards the conversation
partner in the Western world. However, this phenomenon has several possible
explanations associated with Russia`s rough weather conditions, complex
historic development, and most importantly, the fact that the Russian smile has
a very different communicative function in comparison to the Western
smile.
The linguists Sternin and Prohorov in
their investigations of the Russian communicative behaviour identified several
interesting particularities of the Russian smile.
1. Russians smile in a different way.
Normally only stretching their lips - rarely showing their upper teeth, whereas
Westerners would display upper and even lower teeth. In Russia such a smile can
be considered unpleasant and sometimes even vulgar: it is called a grin or a
horse smile (no offence!). Russian writers often highlighted differences
between the way Russians and Americans smile, - apparently the American smile
often seems awkward and artificial to Russians. Maxim Gorky (Russian writer,
1868-1936), once said "The first thing you see on an American face is
teeth". There is also the Russian saying which claims that "Grinning
people are never loved". Our contemporaries also found this topic
interesting: the popular comedian Zvanetsky wrote that "North American
people are smiling as if they were plugged in".
2. In the Russian culture smiling to be
polite is not common. In the majority of the Western cultures people smile to
be polite, and hence, smiling is obligatory for greetings or even maintaining a
conversation. The more a person smiles, the more politeness he or she demonstrates
towards their conversation buddy. Interestingly, in some Eastern cultures a
polite smile is offered to help one receive negative information. In his
memories Ilya Erenburg (Soviet writer, 1891-1967) tells a story about a Chinese
man who spoke about his wife`s death with a smile. This courtesy smile meant
that Ilya didn`t have to feel bad or sad about this situation, as it wasn`t his
tragedy. This would be completely unacceptable in the Russian culture.
Smiling to be nice is not common in the
Russian culture, moreover, it could be perceived as an insult. The Russian
phrase "he smiled to be nice" has a negative meaning. A polite smile
for clients is called a "duty smile" and is also perceived negatively
as it is considered fake.
3. In Russia it is uncommon to smile at
strangers. A smile is normally addressed to somebody you know. This is
precisely why cashiers or shop assistants somewhat rarely smile at clients -
they don`t know them! If a stranger smiles at a Russian, they would probably
search for a reason for that smile - "Do I know you? or "Have we met
before?". In Russia a smile is considered an invitation to start a
conversation; and if a Russian is not ready for such a contact, they simply
will not smile back. If the eyes of two strangers meet accidently, the
Westerner would most likely smile while the Russian would look away.
4. In Russia it is also uncommon to
smile when working or carrying out an important task. This comes from the
oldest traditions when servants or waiters were always very polite but didn`t
allow themselves to smile. This tradition is still alive nowadays: a polite
smile wasn`t adopted in the Russian services area. The reason for this is that
for the Russian mentality it seems an artificial mask or a fake face which is
covering up the indifference.
From the early childhood the American
or Japanese parents inculcate to their children that smiling is a social
responsibility, whereas Russian parents often say : "Don`t smile too much
at school, be serious".
5. The Russian smile demands sincerity
and a reason: it is always genuine, open and represents a good mood or a
positive attitude towards somebody. The smiles that are not supported by a
positive state of mind cause immediate mistrust and disapproval.
"A smile sometimes hides
poison" "What is boiling in the heart is impossible to hide by a nice
face" "Suffering hearts wouldn`t be healed by a smile" — are
some of literal translations of several Russian sayings.
Chinese on the other hand say:
"When your heart is offended your face shows a smile".
In general, excessive smiliness or
cheerfulness seems suspicious in the Russian culture. (How strange!) Such
a habit could be considered as folly or even flirting (vulgar behaviour in
the worst case). Therefore there is a saying in Russian: "Laughing with no
reason is a sign of a fool".
A smile has to be appropriate for the
situation. Another Russian saying: "Devote time for work but only an hour
for entertainment". Very often at school you can hear teachers saying: “You
can smile later, now it is time for work."
Also, it is impolite to smile next to
people if they suffer some kind of sadness or a personal problem. (Rather than
to cheer up they mourn together- so much empathy!)
However, what are the routes of those
particularities? Volkova as one of the contributors to the investigation of the
topic considers the traditions of the Russian Orthodoxy an important factor.
The Russian Orthodoxy is devoted to the writings of the Saint Fathers of the
Church of the first eight centuries of Christianity. The Saint Fathers warned
that laughter is a weapon of the devil which seduces people and then laughs at
them. The Church in the middle ages chased and disapproved of the entertainment
culture including street actors or market comedians whose purpose was to make
people smile or laugh.
The Gospel teaches that "Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted". Therefore tears (and
not laughter) are particularly respected in the traditions of the Orthodox
spirituality, especially tears for your own sins or deep sympathy to others` sadness.
Weeping is one of the main genre of the
Russian folklore and literature. For example, the famous weep of Yaroslavna
from the anonymous epic poem "The tale of Igor`s campaign" or the
lines from Nekrasov`s (Russian poet, 1821-1877) poem “Thoughts at a
Vestibule" (1858): "In our land, this moan is called a song".
Nikolai Berdyaev (Russian writer and philosopher,
1874-1948) in his work "The fate of Russia" sees the reasons for
unsmiling people in the boundless open spaces of our country, rough climate and
living conditions, long fight for survival and special psychological make up of
the Russian people.
"The Russian soul is supressed by
the immense Russian fields and immense Russian snows. It drowns and disperses
in this immensity. And Russians almost never know the happiness of shape. The
Russian soul is hit by the breadth and it doesn`t see the limits; and this
infinity doesn`t liberate it but enslaves it... And this way the spiritual
energy of Russian men enters their contemplation and heartfullness."
Despite the fact that smiling amongst
Russians is less common, the scientists of linguistics note that Russian people
are mainly cheerful, happy, hospitable and have a good sense of humour.
Smiling and laughter are not the same. And investigators think that
precisely laughter is inherent to Russia even when it is "laughter through
tears" described by Nicolai Gogol (Russian writer and novelist,
1809-1852).
http://www.livemaster.ru/topic/1105471-glubinnye-prichiny-russkoj-neulybchivosti (original article in Russian)
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