What's To Be Happy About? Or, Why Russians Don’t Smile.
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There’s a popular Russian saying, “Laughter without a reason is a sign of folly”. If you ask a Russian man why he is so gloomy, he’d answer with a likewise gloomy question, “What’s to be happy about?” What is there to tell him?
My Encounter With Russians
I just came from a long trip to Europe; among countries I visited was Russia. I employed that opportunity to evaluate the population of St. Petersburg, a beautiful, if not slightly decaying city in Northern Russia. I was puzzled as what grade to give them on the humanity scale. First, I was pleasantly surprised to see how diverse their faces are. At the same time I was bemused by the absence of smiles. I decided to find out why.
On October 25th 2010 I stood in the subway car and observed people. They all had exhausted, deadpan faces. The girls were all austere with icy severe eyes, accentuated by their supercilious eyelashes. The men were like guards of a secret wisdom that they themselves had no access to. Why?! Maybe they were coming from, or to work. Those women in high heels didn't seem to work at factories and I doubted the old gracious men worked as servants of despotic mistresses. At the same time, everybody was reading a book . It was literally like an underground library: the passengers were reading Murakami, Coelho, Stogoff and other fashionable writers of the day; less imaginative souls were reading newspapers. At that very moment I realized I was the freest man there: I didn't need to go to work, I didn't need to pay bills, I didn't have any family obligations. I didn't need even to go anywhere – I could stop and get out at any station. That thought took off the cobweb of indifference that had started creeping over my face as I was examining that realm of introvert subterranean readers.
I’m out on the ground. The cold decaying scent coming off the fallen leaves is intoxicating. Streets are all crowded with both Spartan-built youth and blue-faced high-collared Decadents with suspicious and painful eyes. The women are all either Messalinas dressed to kill or despondent girls with berets on, serene and honest eyes. The latter are nicely enraptured by modern philosophy and cafes, while the former remain a true mystery preferring singing in dim karaoke bars. Only obtuse teenagers laugh and make faces. The apparel colors are all black and gray, which is in acute contrast with the billboard advertisements, which are executed probably by Moscow gayers.
Some Explanations
Although this hub does not give you the ultimate answer to the question, I’ve come across a few theories that may shed some light.
1. A friend of mine believes the tense and severe imprint on Russian faces came as a result of the troublesome 1990s. It was then when people lost their faith in each other and everyone was suspected to do harm; hence the suspicious careful glances of the people on the streets and public transportation. One of the reasons why people barely dare to look into a stranger’s eyes.
2. Another friend says that the whole problem has nothing to do with Russian people per se but rather with the overall Northern demographics. Go to Finland or Norway, he said, and you’ll see the same pale smileless folks. There may be an air of truth to it. I’ve been to Finland, Estonia and Denmark, but I cannot say that people were that gloomy. True, they are reserved too but without tension. On the other hand, I was in Southern Russia and the Ukraine and people didn’t seem so despondent. Maybe I should undertake a research trip to Galicia and Volyn.
3. Meanwhile, my father says that even before the 90s people in Russia looked suppressed and gloomy on the streets. Being brought up during world wars and Stalinist terror, previous generations were accustomed to hardship that seemed imprinted forever into their faces and that reservation was well passed to their children. However, it’s been almost 20 years since the breakup of the USSR. I'm lost to explain why many young men on the streets look more morose than their parents. My father thinks that these kids emulate solemn facial expressions, peculiar to gangsters, only to be immediately perceived as tough crowd. He pointed out that that is particularly typical for the youth recently moved from the country. When my father recently asked a model agency in Russia to find girls with cheerful smiles for his advertisement campaign, they were bemused. The agent literally told my father that no one had ever come with such a request. So my father had to go through the agency catalog to select girls (photographed without smiles, mind you). Out of five or six models only few turned out to have good smiles.
Unsmiling History
History won’t bring a straight answer but a few curiosities. In 1670s happened the Great Expulsion of Merry Men from Russia. Minstrels, jesters, actors and musicians were all expelled from the society on religious grounds. All kinds of performance were banned; music instruments were destroyed or buried and solemn silence descended upon the land. Apparently that’s when lived the true prototype of ‘The Unsmiling Czarevna’ (Царевна-Несмеяна) from a Russian fairytale.
Fast-forward 270 years... In the 1930s-50s, the Soviet propaganda relentlessly warned of the threat of espionage; any action could be taken for work of a spy; indeed “even walls are listening nowadays”, as one poster warned. If you look at the vigilance agitprop of the time, you’ll see that a smiling face is always set off against an ominous and attentive listener. Be careful what you say on the phone, what you say in the pub, what you write in a letter to your mother, for the enemy can use any bit of information to harm the state. That tension made people even more reserved, not because of the possibility of having a nearby spy, but rather because of the fear of wanton accusations made by neighbors or even by family members. That also prompted me to think, what a nuisance Ostap Bender, the conman from the Soviet novel “The Twelve Chairs”, must have been to petty Soviet officials who fell prey to his broad American smile.
Epilogue
Of course, here I’m talking about average Russian people off the street. Among friends and in family circle Russians express the same feelings as anyone else in the world, not excluding smiling. If you’re a foreigner visiting Russia, be prepared that Russians would stare at you, maybe not as surprisingly as decades before, but they would immediately become acutely aware that there’s a person not from Russia, a thing that always amused my companions.
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Another point of view on the subject by a fellow writer
- Why Russians Don't Smile In the Streets.
A great Russian poet Feodor Tyutchev said about Russia: , : ...
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Great hub moncrieff, a real interesting look at the Russian people. I was thinking while reading it that I don't ever remember seeing a Russian smiling (kind of like what your father says). You know what every time I go out and about it seems a lot of folks aren't smiling anymore, anywhere. Good work! Peace!! Tom
@ladyjane1, thanks for your comments and following me. Glad that my hub shed some light on the subject for you, especially if you have a Russian husband.
@justom, I think maybe the reason why we don't see smiling Russians often is because, if we're talking about TV here, we mostly see official ceremonies, summits, or serious incidents that leave no room for smile... Thanks for stopping by, Tom!
I grew up in Russia and can attest that your observations are very accurate. I look at my grade school class photos -- and nobody smiles! And these are little kids. There was never such a thing as "say cheese" :) In fact, many recent Russian immigrants who find themselves in the midst of smiling, high-five-ing Americans who are always "fine", resent this kinds of perpetual cheerfulness and consider it insincere. The exchange such as this: "How are you?" -- "I'm fine, thanks. Well, my cat died" -- "Oh, no! I'm so sorry!" - "Thanks, yes, it's alright" -- is not that atypical and is kind of absurd if you really think about it :)) By I digress.... I think, all of your explanations are right on target -- it's deeply ingrained in the cultural "story" of this country and its people: if you look at Russian classical literature, there's this undertone of hopelessness and melancholy; with some exceptions, things hardly ever end 100% well for the characters, no true "happy end"...
I'm glad I finally hit the target ) You're quite funny! You said "...find insincere" - well Russians then feel more comfortable with sincere gloom and suspicion. As for Russian literature, yes, it's mostly rather heavy stuff.
You tackled a very interesting subject, and I like your conclusions.. that stern ex-Soviet remembers the past -- and so do the young! Great post.
carolina muscle, thanks for reading! Hope that the new century will finally erase any memory of hardship in Russians so there'll be no more tension and insecurity.
This is a very interesting, well written hub, Moncrieff.
I have never been to Russia, but we did have a visiting teacher from Russia at my high school some years back. She stayed with my friend Jay Shane and his wife. When I had them over for dinner, she gave me a small bottle of vodka. A short time later, I showed her a soup spoon that matched the china still being shipped from Hong Kong. "Thank you," she said as she put the spoon in her purse. When he got a chance, Jay pulled me aside to explain the hospitality rules of Russia. When you visit someone, you give that person a gift and you expect a gift in return. I was thankful I had not shown her something really valuable! Anyway, there is a soup spoon from China resting in Natasha's home in Moscow.
mysterylady89, ha, it's funny how you fell a prey to the hospitality rules of Russia. Yes, Russians love to bring gifts with them to people they're going to visit but a return gift is not a strict requirement in this scenario, as far as I know. Maybe there was a misunderstanding of gestures. I'm sure she enjoys having your spoon as a nice souvenir.
moncrief, I am very glad I found you and this hub. What is interesting, some time ago I myself wrote a hub putting some light on "why Russians do not smile on the streets". Now I linked your hub to mine, as they add to each other.
You are very right explaining why Russians do not smile publicly. It's a manner of self-guard and non-trust. But Russians do smile, when in company of people whom they like and trust.
ReuVera, thanks! You're right, it's self-guard that we deal here and it will take generations, I don't know how many, to brighten the dark cloud over the public face of an average Russian. And of course, among friends, Russians are just as any other people.
I think it is a combination of their history, their economics, and their hopes for a better tomorrow having been lost. Look at some old photos of the Depression era in America after the Crash of 29...I think you might find some of those faces you saw in Russia. Thanks for a good article! WB
Wayne Brown, you got an interesting point about the Depression. That's true, I saw despondent farmers during the Dust Bowl. There's a story in a Dale Carnegie book about a man during the Depression who walked down the avenue looking for a job every day during those days, always with a rose in his buttonhole and with a smile, keeping his chin up no matter what. Thanks for reading.
I have never been to Russia, but I work with the public and have encountered many Russians living in the US and the no smiling is very common, but unfortunately I also have encountered a stern, rude & often very demanding demeanor fairly often. Even amongst children too. I don't like stereotyping and am ultimately curious about cultural histories and contexts. Thanks for the post!
avidreader, thanks for reading! That's interesting. I only may assume that... maybe the Russians you encounter are well-to-do indivuduals, an emigre elite.
hi moncrieff! Funny and enjoyable reading with this hub. Thanks!
gmmurgirl, thank you for stopping by and your nice words. Cheers.
As a Russian, I concur. Personally, I find smiling without a good reason to be unnerving and rude, bordering on insulting. However, thinking that it was just a Soviet aberration is off the mark. Things were always bleak here, and will always be. I mean, just read Dostoyevsky. Doom and gloom. And that's OK.
Here's interesting article from "Wired" on the subject:
I like the pic that you used, the unsmiling czarevna. Really caught my attention. Didn't know that many Russians don't smile too much, as you've said, it must be because of Russia's history. I also know of one country where many people commit suicide. Experts say it's because of the country's history and (lack of ) religious beliefs. All these things just teach me that culture influences people's attitudes.
@Vlad, you have a good point. But if you think about it, England or America were no way merrier in the 19th century, if we talk about ordinary people. Thanks.
@kerlynb, you made me look into suicide rates by country... Sad picture there. Looks like in the top ten are countries with a huge Slavic population. Lack of beliefs, I agree with you. But then in Japan it's ok because people have no fear of death there, or they have a different attitude towards death... Thank you for your input!
It's not only Russian issue. People in Bulgaria don' smile also. It's just the combination of the fuck-up post social regime situation and the social regime damages. No security, no believes, no perspectives. The issue is really interesting, but sorry your conclusions are pretty infantil. No offence
albenski, no smiles in Bulgaria?? Now that is hard to believe and it certainly destroys the concepts I presented here... What's not to smile there? The climate is heavenly... But you got a point... Thank you for your input!
How silly of you to make such conclusions. I just can't understand why ALL Europeans and Americans consider us gloomy or dangerous or anything. I? this because of false information and publications made during the Cold War?
It's interesting. Well, I'm russian. I notice that thing too! I think that people don't smile that much because the life in modern Russia sucks (don't know about USSR, because I was born in 1992). The country isn't for people. That's why.
That's because of our religion, history and climate! you only captured the top of the iceberg:)
@Olga, I think, nowadays one can easily make personal observations rather than rely on newspapers. Thank you for your input!
@Katya, that's a valid point. However, there's a lot of much poorer countries where people nevertheless seem to be much happier. Thank you!
@Darya, climate? I'd give that to you. But religion? Greeks don't seem to be as gloomy )) History did play some bad cards, true. Thank you!
Thank you for your article!
I am Russian living in the UK. The biggest challenge for me when I came here was "Small talk". Although at that time I didn’t know the name of that phenomenon. I had neither experienced it myself nor heard of it before. But what I knew with almost 100 % certainty was that all the people around me (acquaintances and complete strangers) agreed to speak to me in the most unexpected circumstances in a very weird way...
An old man at the bus stop would suddenly ask me “It is raining again today, isn’t it?”. (Whats the hell? Well its obvious that its raining isn’t it?). The Barclays cashier would greet me with “How are you today, my love?” (What?! Did he just call me “Love”?! Do I know you?”). Every morning my American flatmate would ask me “Wassup?”. Because he wasn’t even looking at me when he asked me this question I figured out he did not really want to know how I was...
I was confused and annoyed because I didnt know how to behave in those situations. One day my irritation reached the point when I answered “Nothing is up” (Poor Matt haha:). And because all this happened on an every day basis, I was continuously stressed.
I couldn’t get my head around this problem. It was obvious that none of my european group mates (new friends) had a similar issue. I did some observations and saw that everyone felt very comfortable when speaking to strangers as well the people they hardly knew. This stress continued for quite a few months. Until one day my friend who was originally from Lithuania but already for many years had lived in the netherlands visited me. The moment of truth happened one evening when we had dinner with my groupmates. When they asked her if it was difficult for her to integrate, she said the biggest difficulty was “small talk”. “What is small talk?” - I asked. "This is when people speak to each other but it doesnt mean anything. It is a kinda act of politeness.", she said. I rushed to the Wikipedia and found out all I needed to know :)
From that moment on I entered the small talk world:) Instead of avoiding people, I started paying attention to how my friends talk to strangers and to people they hardly know. I took notes of the phrases they used and memorised them. Now I feel much better and more confident here :)
You are very right in your observations. Look at the "Do not talk too much poster" - it is the best explanation why we dont have a small talk. This is because if you "talk to much" you could easily end up in the GULAG, prison or this "talk" might simply cost you your life!
Well.. all these are cultural differences! Good to know them. Talking about Russians I can also say that, despite they dont do a small talk, they will be your best friends for life, they will do everything for you, support you and help you. But it just take us longer to establish a connection than most of the other nations.
I am from Mongolia. People in Mongolia don't smile to strangers as well. I always thought it was a sort of cultural thing. If one smiles at a stranger, people usually call the person nuts. Don't know why
@Natasha, small talk... I think everyone in engaged in small talk one way or another: we go to parties or conferences where we are compelled to talk about little things to many unfamiliar people. The only difference being that small talk you so vividly described is taken out of that context and placed in a more "indifferent" environment: strangers on the street, co-workers... I understand how inane it seems at times and yet it requires a skill. I think small talk is akin to shaking a hand: a sign symbolizing there's no hostility between parties. Thank you for expressing your experience and reading the article!
@O, it's an interesting point about culture. But then we still have the question, why did this become a cultural thing? What exactly promted people to be more reserved? Thanks for reading!
Not smiling has nothing to do with USSR, Stalin, GULAG - these are just scary stories told to westerners and young russians, born in 90's. "Everyone could be sent to prison for saying something wrong" - that is crazy thought. Russians don't smile much on streets and with strangers because of their mentality. It is considered to be hypocrite - to smile all the time to everyone without a reason. Russians smile if they really feel like smiling. If Russian smiles to you - well, congratulations! He actually likes you or what you tell him or what is happening at the moment. The phrase that smiling without a reason is a sign of foolishness means that the one will SINCERELY smile only if he is has some mental problems.
marianne, it's very easy to smile; that's barely an effort, yet Russians reserve it for something they feel genuinely comfortable with. I'm prone to agree with you in general, but I wonder why Russians are that way. Thank you for your input!
"Have you noticed that the imbecile always smiles? Man's first frown is the first touch of God on his forehead. The touch of thought. But we'll have neither God nor thought. Only voting by smiles. Automatic levers - all saying yes ..." Ayn Rand "The Fountainhead"
Smile and happiness is not the same. the Japanese always smiling and you think they really glad to see you. the Russians did not smile and you feel confused. the truth is both Japanese and Russian don't care about you and it's only national characteristics
I wish you and I have smile like that:
"That kind of smile did not belong in the pages of a newspaper. It was the smile of a man who is able to see, to know and to create the glory of existence. It was the challenging smile of a brilliant intelligence." Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged"
Thanks for Your opinion :)
Nicole, telling like it is is pretty harsh. Thanks for the quotations!
ladyjane1 Level 3 Commenter 18 months ago
What an awesome and interesting hub. I didn't know that Russians smile on average less the Americans do. Maybe Americans just find the lighter side of things and are less serious about daily life as Russians are and that could be because of the Soviet days, I don't know but I enjoyed your hub and I enjoy your writing very much. My husband is from Russia and we have touched on this subject somewhat but you shed some light on it. Keep writing and you have a new fan. Cheers.