Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011)

Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by RivieraKid on Monday November 18, 2013 @05:34PM (#6757691)

I'm from Prague and I was always baffled by this. How does the smiling thing work? In what situations do you smile? For example, if you're walking on street, do you eye-contact people going in the opposite direction and smile at them?

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Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by schrodinger on Monday November 18, 2013 @05:47PM (#6757821)

You don't make eye contact with everyone you walk by, no. But if you do happen to make eye contact, you typically smile - and it would be a little awkward if you didn't.

I think there's a difference between a polite smile of acknowledgement and a smile give to someone that you already know well, however.

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Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by DominikR on Tuesday November 19, 2013 @03:27AM (#6759893)

I'm in Vienna, Austria (not far from Prague, but generally considered to be part of western Europe) and if a stranger smiled at me for no apparent reason I'd think that she/he is into me, high on drugs or trying to sell me something.

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Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by RivieraKid on Monday November 18, 2013 @05:57PM (#6757917)

Interesting, this certainly doesn't happen here...

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Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by eli_gottlieb on Tuesday November 19, 2013 @03:20AM (#6759873)

>For example, if you're walking on street, do you eye-contact people going in the opposite direction and smile at them?

At least in the States, yes. It's how you show you're not about to go for their throat with a knife.

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Re:Why Russians Are Not Smiling (2011) by DominikR on Tuesday November 19, 2013 @03:36AM (#6759920)

Very interesting, so it's a mechanism to differentiate between neutral/friendly and enemy.

How does this work on a crowded place?

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