The first time I applied for a Russian visa, my photo was rejected for smiling. My second Putin-serious photo was accepted just fine. What's the story with smiling? Do Americans come across as goofy there for smiling too much? (off topic, I know, but potentially useful)
Passport photos aside (which really do require a neutral face, even in the US), Russians do not smile in public or to strangers the way we do in the US. Smiling in public is seen as a sign of foolishness or low intelligence. When Americans come to Russia they interpret the lack of smiles as hostility, which isn't true.
Incidentally, that slighty-more-serious mood in Russia feels comfortable for me. Maybe because I tend to smile less than I "should" in the US.
[1] From https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/require...
"You must have a neutral facial expression or a natural smile, with both eyes open"
Most people don't walk around with a giant grin on their face. A picture of a resting face is more accurate than one that you pose and contort your face for.
One may smile when he meets a friend or sees some cute kitten, but in general people are walking in some meditation alike state, thinking about the current affairs and not particularly paying attention to the people they passing by.
And when russian person meets the grinning stranger with cold eyes (not his real mood). It looks kind of creepy. Ordinary people usually do not pay much attention for this kind of encounters. Police (are you drunk?) and street scammers(are you a tourist?) - do.
And yes, if you smile too much you are taken for лох, even if you are native. Get to an urban market some day and smile to sellers, посчитай на сколько обуют.
>>The virile ruler, the vodka, the endless mounds of sour cream—they are pleasing to some. It’s just that grinning without cause is not a skill Russians possess or feel compelled to cultivate. There’s even a Russian proverb that translates, roughly, to “laughing for no reason is a sign of stupidity"
Your average street level transaction will degrade if you smile or even too polite.