People who visit Russia for business or pleasure should try to have good manners while interacting with locals. Here are 12 tips useful for the typical tourist who comes to Russia for travel. These tips can be used when dining, shopping, in private Russian homes and out on the street.
Etiquette Tips for Visitors to Russia
- Shoes are always removed upon entering a private home (and are sometimes removed upon entering Russian museums). Slippers may be given to guests to wear.
- People should never show the soles of their shoes to Russians; this is considered grave disrespect. Tourists should always sit so the soles of their shoes face the floor.
- A small edible gift (wine, pastries, fruit) should always be given to hosts when people are invited over for dinner.
- When Russian people give flowers, they never give them in even numbers (even-numbered bunches of flowers are reserved for funerals).
- Visitors to Russia should try to refrain from smiling too much to avoid attracting attention.
- Americans in particular should speak a little lower than they would in their home country; Russians often remark that their American friends seem to be shouting when they speak.
- Russians follow European table manners--fork in left hand, knife in right hand.
- Single women should avoid sitting at the corner of a table; this is considered bad luck.
- During train travel, it is considered polite for travelers to share all they have with the people in the carriage: food, drink and cigarettes.
- At outdoor markets, there is quite a bit of jostling; this is normal.
- When standing in line, tourists should get up quite close to the person in front of them. Failure to do so will lead locals to believe that the tourist is not in line at all.
- A little bit of knowledge of the Russian language will go a long way. At the very least, tourists should learn to say "Please" (Pazhalsta) and "Thank You" (Spasiba).
Things to Keep in Mind When Touring Russia
It's a little hard to get around in Russia without knowing some of the language, but in major metropolitan centers like Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are many people (generally of the younger generation) who have learned to speak English in school and more than happy to help wayward tourists.
It's not necessary for tourists to be on pins and needles for fear of annoying or insulting Russians. Russian locals are very forgiving and are accustomed to Western visitors. Most Russians will go out of their way to help tourists visiting their cities. It's not uncommon for a pair of visitors to be surrounded by dozens of Russians, each of them eager to assist.
More information on Russian etiquette can be found at Russian Culture and Etiquette.
 |
