The Russian people admire tallness and have a mentality of being a great power that looks down on everything. They almost only pursue “tallness” and “bigness”. No matter what it is, as long as it is “tall and big”, it will be fine.
When doing business with Russians, you should be prepared to deal with a more arbitrary Russian. In their eyes, as long as it is majestic and majestic, even bad things are beautiful, as if this can make them truly rank first in the world. They are obsessed with scale and momentum. Russians do not compete with others in precision and technology, but only in scale, shape and pattern to show off their greatness to the world. Everything in Russia is obviously big and rough: the frames and sizes of refrigerators and washing machines produced in Russia are larger than those of similar products in other countries, and they seem to be bulky and not light enough.
When doing business with them, you should pay attention to the following aspects:
(1) The appearance of the product should be tall. This is the characteristic of Russian products. Paying attention to the tall appearance can cater to their consumer psychology of pursuing tallness.
(2) The product should be light. Due to the high requirements for products, Russian goods are not heavy and light, and sometimes they are not convenient to use. Therefore, some lightweight products also have a large market in Russia.
(3) Russian businessmen believe that the quality and purpose of products are the most important. Buying and selling products that can attract and satisfy the general purchasing power of consumers is a good way to make money.
Russian culture attaches importance to etiquette and distinguishes certain social classes, but at the same time their core value is equality for all. When others have something that they do not have, Russians will feel very angry. Russian etiquette is reflected in people’s dress, meeting and greeting etiquette; in those companies with strict organization and management, the concept of hierarchy is very obvious. Therefore, for people with positions, academic titles, and military ranks, it is best to address them according to their positions, academic titles, and military ranks. According to Russian folk customs, when addressing Russians by name, different methods can be adopted according to the different relationships between each other. Only when dealing with people you meet for the first time or in extremely formal occasions is it necessary to address Russians by the three parts of their names together.
In interpersonal communication, Russians are known for their enthusiasm, boldness, courage and honesty. You must shake hands when you meet a Russian businessman for the first time, and you must also shake hands when you leave. You must use his formal title to address the other party. In formal occasions, you should use “Mr.”, “Miss” or “Mrs.”, unless he specifically asks to use another title. But for familiar people, especially when they meet again after a long separation, most of them will hug each other warmly.
Russia is particularly taboo about the number “13”, believing that it is a symbol of danger and death. On the contrary, it is believed that “7” means happiness and success. Russians don’t like black cats, believing that they don’t bring good luck. Russians believe that mirrors are sacred objects, and breaking a mirror means the destruction of the soul. But if cups, plates, and dishes are broken, it means wealth and happiness. Therefore, at wedding banquets, birthday banquets and other grand occasions, they also deliberately break some plates to express congratulations. Russians usually believe that horses can drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to people. They especially believe that horseshoes are auspicious objects. They think that horseshoes represent power and have the magic power to exorcise demons.
Topics that Russians are taboo about include: political conflicts, economic problems, religious conflicts, ethnic disputes, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the war in Afghanistan, and the issue of the status of a great power.