■Russian Society and Culture
◆ The Russian Family
◇The Russian family depends upon all its members.
◇Most families reside in small apartments, often with 2 or 3 generations sharing little space.
◇Most families are small, often with only one child because most women must go out to work besides bearing sole responsibility for household and chores of raising a child.
◆ Russian Pride
◇Russians take great pride in their country.
◇Patriotic songs and poems glorify the virtues of their homeland.
◇They admit that their lives are difficult and take pride in themselves being able to survive in conditions that others could not.
◇They are proud of their cultural heritage and expect the rest of the world to appreciate it.
◆ Communal Mentality
◇For generations until the 1930’s, Russian life revolved around the agricultural village commune, where the land was owned in common and decision-making was the responsibility of an assembly of the heads of households.
◇This affinity for the group and the collective spirit still exists today. It can be found in everyday life, for example, most Russians will join a table of strangers rather than eat by themselves in a restaurant.
◇Everybody’s business is also everyone else’s, so strangers will stop and tell someone that they are against the rules.
■Etiquette and Customs in Russi
◆ Meeting Etiquette
◇The typical greeting is a firm, almost bone-crushing handshake with direct eye contact and giving the proper greeting for the time of day.
◇The handshake between men and women is less firm.
◇The way female friends greet each other is to kiss on the cheek three times, starting with the left and then alternating.
◇Close male friends may greet by patting each other on the back and embrace.
◆ Naming Conventions
Russian names are made up of:
◇First name, which is the person’s given name.