Why Russians Don't Smile

Why Russians don't smile? There is a popular opinion that Russians are harsh and serious people that hardly ever smile. The reason is that Russians don’t smile out of politeness, they smile when they are happy. Also they think that no smile is better than a fake smile.

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[indicatoker]

This is what I admire about Russians. Here in UK, or jolly ol' England shall I call it where I am, most smiles are really fake. The directness is great imho.

[romelfernandez]

Russia also has a long history of droughts, famines, wars, invasions (mass rapes) which inflicted mass casualties and devastation. I always assumed that some of their smiling habits were related to this. I wonder what percent of older Russians have post traumatic stress issues from those types of events.

[jimmymars]

It's doesn't mean that people don't smile will mean any negative output from their minds, but inside of Russian's spirits and souls are peaceful and serenity.

[jasonroberts]

“Are they really gloomy doucebags?” said in a Russian accent made me laugh out loud.

[ЮрийНескажу-зп]

"Smile! It irratates everyone!" (c) One of MTv`s VJs of the end of 90s/

[ВладимирНеплох]

I wouldn't tell for all Westerns. French and Spanish have pretty much the same smile habits as Russians, for example. It is mostly US thing to smile in any situation, and it is not so common abroad.

[Katya_Lastochka]

It's tough to ask a native Russian why they don't smile. How we communicate is ingrained in our subconsciousness. People communicate in a lot more than just words. I believe Americans and westerners, and many other countries, use their facial muscles to show many different emotions. You'll see in Russian movies their faces don't change that much, but the voice does. That is because our voice is our main tool of displaying emotion. A Russian person might have a blank face but their voice will reflect a lot of affection. When we do smile it is when we are amused, find something funny, or are ecstatic. But the facial features aren't the main way to determine a person's feelings. Many Russians have begun smiling more because of western influence. I hope they aren't doing so out of pressure and don't abandon the vocal inflection. It is how we recognize sincerity and love.

[jetamtskheta]

It must be connected to our tend to underreact. You know this kind of videos where Russians stay calm in a crazy situations. My stepfather (French) always laughs: in France it's common to react to someone's every cooking as "amazing, great", but in Russia if food didn't manage to make you as high as cocaine, food is "normal". No reaction at all.
I noticed it about myself :) I was riding a bike and almost fell, but managed to recover.
What an American would've said? "Good, excellent!"
What did I say? "Good, normal"

[дуро-рй]

Ok, we are smile only with friends, girl/boyfriends, family and with familiar people. And if (for example, friend) friend says not funny joke, we don't smile. We don't like it when people show false emotions. That's all. We like coco, other nationals, like peach.

[mauriceperry]

Dobre Den. A smile & few pleasant words with a stranger costs nothing - HeT ? Spasibo bolshoi

[deepalib]

In different cultures, behaviour expected from people is different

[jimothycurrier]

this reminds a lot just like me in personality even though I am not Russian but it's interesting.

[vgerng]

That's sad tho
Smiling for "no reason" isn't always for no reason as they see it
It's seems very apathetic of russians
You are not asked to smile all the time nor have a huge smile but many look miserable

[fgjjdgb]

I am Russian and the best example for me about smiles is two of the most famous characters in the same dungeon game who both smile, one skeleton with an eternal smile from ear to ear, but who actually just looks forever smiling, and often he is unhappy to the depths souls, another character is a sociopathic girl with maniacal inclinations, she smiles from her own madness and a desire to create chaos, but just like that skeleton, she hides a continuous pain and horror behind her smile. They are clearly not happy, but they make a smile, which makes them afraid or alarming.

[meekmeads]

It's a sign of weakness, and someone who is deceptive, manipulative and cannot be trusted.

[laspigroup]

Because need reason to smile. And this is a real life, not fake as on West.

[bryllejustinreforma]

Better not smile than wear a fake smiling face!

[jonathanwoodvincent]

but if a smile is insincere then it does mean something. It just means something that someone, say a Russian person, doesn't like. It is not shallow except to those that don't understand its value from another context. Seems it is just necessary in-group power rituals that allow people to thrive in historically resource sparse regions (cold, inhospitable, etc). Scandinavians are not so different. Even in smiley USA the smiles increase as one goes south. And it is probably due to the lack of a social safety net to some extent. Americans learn to constantly think they must hustle and work and seduce everyone in order to "earn" their dreams of great status

[World-Music-Man]

With the Russian alphabet, I wouldn’t smile either!

[zamanium]

And why Russians avoid the eye contact