迷信又严肃的俄罗斯人

Russia, officially the Russian Federation, at 17,125,200 square kilometers,is the largest country in the world by area with diverse nationalities.As one of the great powers in the world,Russia has the largest mineral（矿物）reserve（储备）and energy resources in the world,as well as being the biggest exporter of oil and natural gas.

Superstitious?For Good Luck

Just like the phrase“knock on wood”is used in many English cultures to ensure good luck,a lot of superstitions（迷信）are habits to Russian people.Before a trip,many Russians will sit down inside their house for a while,then leave from home to ensure they can come home safely.Russians will look into the mirror if they suddenly realize they have to go back home for things they forget to bring.They consider it good luck to break glass accidentally.They spit（吐）three times over their shoulders after they knock on wood so the good luck is locked in.Russians don’t shake hands over a threshold（门槛）.They send an even（双数的）number of flowers for celebrations and an odd（单数的）number of flowers for funerals（葬礼）.Russian people do not whistle（吹口哨）indoors and do not wish people happy birthday prematurely（过早地）.

俄罗斯联邦，简称“俄罗斯”，国土面积约1712.5万平方千米，是当今世界面积最大的多民族国家。作为世界上最强大的国家之一，俄罗斯拥有世界上最大的矿产储备和能源资源，同时也是最大的石油和天然气出口国。

Mostpeople don’tactually believe these things work,butthe culture and habits have been widely spread and accepted among people due to pre-revolutionary pagan mysticsand Orthodox priests.Most Russians do these things unconsciously（无意识地）.

Blunt and Serious

Russians have a serious demeanor（行为；举止）,especially when in public.In Russia,it is considered rude and uncivilized to express personalfeelings to strangersyou meetforthe firsttime.Because,you should not burden a stranger with your emotions.

迷信？为了好运

就好比很多英语国家使用“敲木头”这个词来确保好运气一样，俄罗斯人的生活中也有很多习惯成自然的迷信存在。出门旅行前，俄罗斯人喜欢在家中静坐片刻再出发，以求安全归来；如果已经出门，突然想起忘在家中的物品，俄罗斯人会照照镜子；他们认为偶尔打碎玻璃杯，会驱走厄运；敲敲木头之后朝后背吐三次口水，能锁定好运气；不在门槛处握手；喜事送双数花，丧事送单数花；不在室内吹口哨；不提前送出生日祝福等。

并不是俄罗斯人深信这样做一定有用，但这种文化和习惯在俄罗斯社会改革之前，就因为东正教牧师和异教徒的神秘传说被广泛传播，深入人们骨髓。大多数人很多时候想都没想，就已经做完了一整套动作。

正儿八经

俄罗斯是一个正儿八经的民族，特别是在公共场合。在俄罗斯，向初次见面的陌生人倾诉衷肠，太快表达过多个人感情，都是粗鲁和没教养的表现。因为你不应该让一个陌生人承担你的感情包袱。

Unlike English people’s weather chatting habits for no reason,and Americans compliments to a person’s appearance to starta conversation,Russians dislike wasting time chitchatting（闲聊）.Instead,they prefer to getto the pointrightaway.Walking on streets of Russia,you will not hear strangers greeting each other with “how are you”,since for Russian culture,you need to give a sincere answer to a question,not just an American friendly“Fine,and you”.

Sometimes,the straightforwardness（提早）in Russian culture makes people who are unfamiliar with the local culture think Russians are grumpy（脾气坏的）with bad attitudes.It can be a shop guide,a restaurant server,or a random Russian co-worker.They can suddenly appearblank faced and cold.However,all these are acceptable in Russian culture as long as you fulfill（履行）your duties.Russians believe it is more important to express real feelings than pretend（假装）to be happy and nice.

俄罗斯人不会像英国人那样，有事没事谈论天气，也不会像美国人从赞扬一个人的外表、着装开始一段对话。俄罗斯人不喜欢浪费时间的废话，相反，他们直切主题。走在俄罗斯街头，陌生人之间是不会随意点头致意询问“你好吗”的。因为，既然是问题，俄罗斯文化要求的是一个诚实的回答，而不是友好礼貌的美式回答“好啊，你呢”。

有时候，俄罗斯人的这种直接会让不熟悉当地文化的他国人觉得他们心情不好，态度欠佳。也许是商店店员，也许是餐厅服务员，也许是偶尔合作的俄罗斯同事，随时可能板上面孔，拒人于千里之外。而这一切，只要是在完成了自己的工作职责和任务的前提之下，都是被俄罗斯文化接受的。俄罗斯人认为，表达真实的情感，比假装开心和假装友好更重要。