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Being Russian, but raised and educated in Western cultures for most of my life, I have been subjected to very nice people during most of my self-conscious life. Or at least people who do not snap at you for no reason whatsoever.
The skill of trusting that the random person you are about to talk to, whether it is a receptionist, a cashier, or anyone else, is not going to yell at you for distracting them (and making them do their job) gives you peace of mind. Except when you ar
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Comments
11.14.08
Maybe you should set your sights at becoming a PR expert for all of Russia and try to change this stupid custom of being rude to anyone that they do not know. Its not only bad business, but its also bad human nature. With the globalization of business and living, Russians should really try to conciously make a change if they want to break this negative stereotype.
11.16.08
My boyfriend, from Russia, has been trying to help me understand this concept for years. I think people are somewhat rude when I simply go to NYC for the day from upstate NY. Until you get to know people from another culture, you have very little concept of how big a difference in what you could almost call their nature. I hope it works out for you, but I don't know if you could really enjoy working in that environment; you seem much too nice!
11.17.08
What a coincidence. In the career section of the Sunday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) there was an article about how having manners at work really pays off. They gave the example of a job candidate who got flown to another state for an interview - and then the person who was going to interview him had to reschedule for the following day. The candidate was put up at a 5 star hotel for the night so that he could get to the interview the next day. To thank the company for the interviewer's re-scheduling he proceeded to order champagne, an expensive meal and made more than a few phone calls from his room...how rude hey? AND short sighted...I'm not one to kiss a** but come on..who was he thinking would have the last laugh? Losing a job over a hotel bill is certainly not what I call getting even...
11.17.08
Thank for all for your comments!
@Bob, I see where you are coming from, but I think this tendency to be rude (it is not even necessarily rude...just not as nice as the "American way") is more deeply seated in the Russian people's history and culture. We have historically been screwed over by our government and the people have had to fend for themselves. The 90s in Russia was a bitter battle for survival and I think the "skills" learned then are still in the air today. Americans have not come close to dealing with what Russians have to deal with on a daily basis, so they can afford the luxury of being nice to other people.
I also made very sweeping generalization. Obviously, not everyone is rude. In fact, most people I would say are not rude. But many people who have made something of themselves fall into the trap of thinking that they are on top of the world and therefore can treat other people however they want. This is especially true of Moscow.
@Nichole, thank you for your comment! I do have hope, though. I think we are starting to see some changes, but unfortunately this behavior has been many years in the making, so it is hard to get rid of it quickly. But I think people in my generation (20-25 year olds) are more "Westernized" than any other generation.
@Silvana Avinami, well that is just stupid. Thanks for sharing! Makes me feel better about myself :-).
07.16.09
Its not rude its just to the point!
Whats the point in saying 'Excuse me?Hello, I was wondering if you could direct me to where the museum is because I am lost.'
When in fact all you need to say is 'Where's the museum?'.
And as for the Americans, I think that its just the tension that they hold against the Russians after the Cold War and that they are just imagining it. And as a Brittish citizen, I feel more comfortable in the presence or Russians than of Americans. At least Russians know when they are being blunt.
Mary (Masha) ;)
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