QA：俄罗斯人不了解你就不会对你微笑，这是真的吗？

Boris Ivanov
It is different with Russians who are trained to smile (for example, hotel workers) but in general, the answer is yes. We have a saying that I creatively translate as “Smile without a reason is a sign of treason” (it’s actually “…a sign of stupidity”). Our culture doesn’t value fake polite smiles aimed at strangers.
In some situations, smiling at a stranger may be interpreted as laughing at him/her. And that would be an affront. Particularly uncouth Russians may react to a stranger's wide smile with violence. So, having a stone face while communicating with locals is a good idea for a tourist, especially if he/she travels in the areas of Russia where foreigners are rare.
Of course, all of that doesn’t mean that we don’t smile. We do, just not all the time. We prefer sincere and honest smiles aimed at people we know, like and enjoy.
Pictured - ISS cosmonauts. Note the Russian one (Dmitry Kondratiev).

受过专门的微笑训练的俄罗斯人可能不同（例如酒店员工），但总的来说，答案是肯定的。
我们有一句话，我创造性地翻译为：“无缘无故微笑是叛国的标志”（实际上是“……愚蠢的标志”）。
对陌生人保持假假的礼貌性微笑，这在我们的文化中不被重视。
在某些情况下，对陌生人微笑，可能会被理解成在嘲笑他或者她。那将是一种冒犯。
某些特别粗鲁的俄罗斯人，可能会对陌生人灿烂的笑容做出暴力的回应。
因此，对于游客来说，在和当地人交流的时候，板着个脸才是个好主意。尤其是在那些很少有外国游客的地方旅行的时候。
当然，这并不意味着我们不笑。我们是这样做的，只是不是一直都这样。我们更喜欢对我们认识、喜欢和欣赏的人，露出真诚又诚实的微笑。
图为国际空间站的宇航员。注意俄罗斯的那个（Dmitry Kondratiev）。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Anna Karenian
Actually, easy smiling is a feature of the British-American culture only.
In all other cultures, more or less established, a unfamiliar person is accepted amicably by default, so no supplementary profession of amicability (i.e. smiling) is required to him/her to be accepted positively by people around. Smiling to unfamiliar persons is unexpected in such cultures and it would be considered as inadequate behavior if no other reason for smiling is apparent to the people exposed.
It is true for the Russian, Eastern-European, Near-Eastern, Oriental, and even for many Western cultures such as the French and the German. In all these cultures, smiling is an exhibition of enough strong emotion, so it needs to be grounded in order to be to the point. It is similar to the laugh to unfamiliar person in the British-American culture.

事实上，轻易微笑只是英美文化的一个特点。
在所有其他文化中，或多或少的有点约定俗成的认为：不熟悉的人应该被友好的接纳，因此不需要用微笑来补充友善，就能被周围的人积极的接纳。
在这样的文化中，对不熟悉的人微笑，是让人感到意外的。对一个已经解触过的人，没有理由的突然露出微笑，这将被视为不恰当的行为。
俄罗斯、东欧、近东、东方，甚至许多西方文化，如法国和德国，都是如此。在所有这些文化中，笑是一种强烈的情感表达，因此它需要有合理的原因才能恰到好处。它类似于英美文化中对陌生人的嘲笑。

Susanna Viljanen
Yes. Smile is seen as genuine expression of happiness and rendering yourself vulnerable. Smiling to strangers is considered a sign of retardedness. Why Russians Don’t Smile? - Understand Russia
At worst, someone smiling at you may be considered as a hostile gesture; he is trying to put you down and act as if you were an imbecile.

是的。微笑被视为幸福的真实表达，并使自己变得脆弱。对陌生人微笑被认为是愚蠢的表现。
链接：为什么俄罗斯人不微笑？-了解俄罗斯
在最坏的情况下，某些人对你微笑，可能会被认为是一种敌对的姿态。他试图贬低你，表现得好像你是个低能儿。

So do not get upset if you get rude and insensitive service in a Russian restaurant or grocery store. The Russians themselves are perfectly content with it.

所以，如果你在俄罗斯餐馆或杂货店得到粗鲁和麻木不仁的服务，不要生气。俄罗斯人自己对此完全满意。

Dmitry Baranov
Russians smile when there is a reason to smile, irrespective of the fact they do or do not know you well. If you look funny, joke nicely, or say something nice but to the point — even to someone you don't know — then a Russian will most probably smile.
Just passing by — no matter if you do or don't know a person — is not enough of a reason to give someone a smile, or to expect a smile from someone.

俄罗斯人在有理由微笑的时候微笑，不管他们是否了解你。
如果你看起来很有趣，很好地开玩笑，或者说了一些好听但中肯的话——即使他还不认识你——那么俄罗斯人很可能会微笑。
只是擦肩路过——无论你是否认识这个人——都不足以成为给某人一个微笑或期望某人给你一个微笑的理由。

Shutaka Host
I’m a Ukrainian, but in this at least we behave identically. There are a lot of good answers here and yes normally smiling at strangers is frowned upon.
However, even if you know a person, smiling at them is not required or even expected in everyday situations. Take work environment for example. People work together, they know each other, sometimes for years. Yet, when I come to work in the morning and greet my colleagues I usually do not smile unless I have a reason to (e.g. a colleague I’m close to just came back from vacation and I’m glad they are back). And they don’t smile back. And that’s not perceived as gloomy, just a normal morning around friendly but unsmiling people.

我是乌克兰人，但至少在这方面我们的行为是一样的。
这里有很多很好的答案，是的，通常对陌生人微笑是不被认可的。
然而，即使你认识一个人，在日常生活中也不需要甚至不要期待互相微笑。
以工作环境为例。人们在一起工作，彼此了解，有时长达数年。然而，当我早上来上班问候同事时，我通常不会微笑，除非我有理由（例如，我身边的一位同事刚刚度假回来，我很高兴他们回来了）。他们也不回以微笑。这并不被认为是消极的，只是一个正常的早晨而已，周围都是友好但不苟言笑的人。

There are people though (I’ve met several during the years at my workplaces) that always smile when the greet you in the morning. They are either foreigners, or they are not. Those who are not leave a very peculiar impression. Because if a foreigner smiles at you in the morning you just know this is a habit and does not mean they are happy to see you. When a local does that, it actually means they are glad to see you, those people make my day brighter. Such sunny, earnest and optimistic people are rare and should be treasured.

不过，有些人（这些年来我在工作场所见过好几个）在早上问候你时，总是面带微笑。他们要么是外国人，也可能不是。那些不是的人会给人留下非常奇特的印象。
因为如果一个外国人早上对你微笑，你就知道这是一种习惯，并不意味着他们很高兴见到你。
当一个当地人这样做时，实际上意味着他们很高兴见到你，这些人让我的日子更加明亮。这样阳光、认真、乐观的人是罕见的，应该珍惜。

Of course, those traits should be treasured in anyone, but with foreigners we (Ukrainians) never know if they are smiling out of habit, politeness or are really glad about something. I’ve had clients from the US come and smile at everyone and be super friendly and give an impression everything goes well and then break off contract the next day seemingly without a warning. This behavior is very misleading to people who smile only when there is a reason to smile, but I learned this is how things are normally done in the US and some other countries.

当然，任何人都应该珍惜这些特质，但对于外国人，我们（乌克兰人）永远不知道他们是出于习惯、礼貌而微笑，还是真的对某事感到高兴。
我有一些来自美国的客户，一来就对每个人都微笑，表现得非常友好，给人一种一切顺利的印象，然后第二天就毫无征兆地解除了合同。
这种行为对那些只有在有理由微笑的时候，才会微笑的人来说，是非常有误导性的，但我了解到，在美国和其他一些国家，事情通常是这样做的。
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Richard Garrett
Yes, more or less.
Meeting a stranger or even being gracious to a stranger does not warrant a broad grin. They’ll tell you where the train station is, but they won’t smile about simply encountering you.
I don’t know why, but I don’t think it needs explaining. Why do Americans want to grin at strangers? There are reasons we might go into, but what’s the point?
One gets used to it. Not grinning at strangers is not hostility. Clerks in stores don’t grin or ask you how your day is. They just do their job.

是的，或多或少有点。
遇到陌生人，可以对陌生人彬彬有礼，但不值得咧嘴一笑。他们会告诉你火车站在哪里，但他们不会因为遇到你而微笑。
我不知道为什么，但我认为这不需要解释。
为什么美国人想对陌生人咧嘴笑？我们可能会探讨出一些原因，但这有什么意义呢？
大家已经习惯了。不对陌生人咧嘴笑，并不代表着有敌意。商店里的店员不会咧嘴笑，也不会问你今天过得怎么样。他们只是做他们的工作。

In a way, it’s honest.
I once shared a First Class train room with a Russian man. Shortly after departure, the
“Stewardess” brought a placard with meal sextions. The man told her what he wanted, then gestured to me to do the same. I said I don’t speak the Russian language (in Russian). He scoffed, almost spit, ordered something for me, then showed no more interest in me all night.
The fact that I was obviously some kind of tourist was of no interest to him. I didn’t speak Russian, I was like a bug. No reason for me to be there, too much trouble to deal with.
I was not offended. I was chagrined to travel there with so little knowledge of the language. I got what I deserved. Nobody beat me, but nobody catered to me. I found that fair.
For some reason, I love Russian people. Part of that admiration is the not smiling and faking it. Public encounters are less “friendly,” but they’re more in keeping with reality and my own spirit.
To be sure, when they know you, it’s different. They will smother you with smiles and hospitality. Very warm people.

在某种程度上，这是一种诚实。
我曾经和一个俄罗斯男人共用一个头等舱的火车房。
出发后不久，乘务员带来了一张有餐点选择的标语牌。那个男人告诉她他想要什么，然后示意我也这样做。我说我不会说俄语。他狼吞虎咽，差不多是口沫横飞，还给我点了一些东西，然后就再也对我不感兴趣了。
事实上，我显然是某种游客，他对此不感兴趣。我不会说俄语，我就像一个错误的程序。我没有理由去那里，有太多的麻烦要处理了。
我没有感觉到被冒犯。我很懊恼在那里旅行，却对语言知之甚少。我得到了我应得的。没有人打击我，也没有人迎合我。我觉得这很公平。
出于某种原因，我爱俄罗斯人。其中一部分就是钦佩他们的不微笑和不假装。公开场合不那么“友好”，但更符合现实和我自己的精神。
可以肯定的是，当他们了解你时，情况就不一样了。他们会用微笑和好客来窒息你。非常热情的人。
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Vic Mayten
Russians and anyone with ex-Soviet background smile when they really feel this way and wouldn’t smile if they don’t feel like it. It has nothing to do with whether they know you or not. It’s like laughing at a joke that’s not funny. Smiling at everything or anyone you meet I think is very idiotic and doesn’t show any so called friendliness. I am not saying you should be looking frown upon with your forehead at anyone you see but normal look on your face should be sufficient enough and smiling should be something extra if you really feel like it.
It all comes from the American lifestyle although I must let everyone know that not all of us (Americans) behave this way.
Now you might say that Russians look gloomy at times and very unfriendly - now that perhaps is not very nice but not all Russians look at you this way (a lot but not all) and also it doesn’t mean their look represents what they think about you personally - in most cases this is the way they look at life in general and perhaps their life is not that happy. Take it easy, don’t take it personally.

俄罗斯人和任何有前苏联背景的人，当他们真的想笑的时候，他们就会笑，如果他们不喜欢，就不会笑。这与他们是否认识你无关。
对你遇到的一切或任何人微笑，我认为这是非常愚蠢的，这就像听了一个不好笑的笑话，还哈哈大笑，这并没有表现出任何所谓的友好。
我并不是说你应该皱着眉头看着你看到的任何人，但你脸上有个正常的表情就足够了，如果你真的喜欢的话，就笑。微笑应该是额外的东西。
这一切都源于美国人的生活方式，尽管并不是所有美国人都这样做。
现在你可能会说俄罗斯人有时看起来很沮丧，非常不友好——这可能并不是很好，但并不是所有的俄罗斯人都这样看着你（很多但不是全部），也不意味着他们的表情就代表了他们对你个人的看法——在大多数情况下，这是他们看待生活的方式，也许他们的生活并不那么幸福。
放轻松，不要把它当成针对个人的行为。

Catherine Macievskaya
No. But there is no such social norm in Russia to smile to strangers. I think that in some other countries it’s more like a ritual. It has no deep meaning. A cultural norm and tradition. It’s what people got used to do without ever questioning why they do this. Russian people got used to another norm without ever questioning it. They can smile to strangers, but they don’t usually smile just in the name of smiling. If they move to another country, they have no problems adapting to new social expectations and sometimes find it exciting. It’s a cultural tradition that belongs to this place. When people in Russia smile, it usually means something personal. A stranger can show you a smile if he/she really likes you. Generally speaking, a smile in Russia is usually perceived as something more than regular politeness, it’s a genuine expression of some emotions. If you started to smile to everybody around, people would think that you are either a foreigner or weirdo, but they're unlikely to take it as anything hostile. Just odd.

不是真的。但在俄罗斯的确没有要对陌生人微笑的社会规范。我认为在其他一些国家，这更像是一种仪式。它没有深刻的意义。一种文化规范和传统。这是人们习惯做的事情，并且从不质疑他们为什么要这么做。
俄罗斯人习惯了另一种常态，也从不质疑它。他们可以对陌生人微笑，但他们通常不会以微笑的名义微笑。
如果他们搬到另一个国家，他们很容易适应新的社会期望，有时会感到兴奋。这是属于这个地方的文化传统。
当俄罗斯人微笑时，通常意味着有一些个人的原因。如果一个陌生人真的喜欢你，他/她会向你微笑。
一般来说，在俄罗斯，微笑通常被认为不仅仅是一种礼貌，它是一些情绪的真实表达。如果你开始对周围的每个人微笑，人们会认为你要么是外国人，要么是怪人，但他们不太可能认为这是什么敌意。只是会感到奇怪。

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