Western businessmen find doing business in Russia difficult but interesting. Success depends on how you can unravel the behaviour of the Russians.

If you take the classic Russian figures as an example and try to derive a certain symbolic image of Russian, you will see that this is not an easy task. Because there are common features, but there are many contradictions.
First, consider the general features.
Ivan the Terrible, Dostoevsky, Lomonosov, Rasputin, Stalin, ... we can mention a lot of the more or less famous ... They are similar in the way they were "dark mystics" in what they did. Their external behaviour did not at all reflect what they had inside. If you look at the paintings of Russian artists, you will again see the picture “hard” and “gloomy”. This means that you should not expect that the external behaviour of the Russians will directly reflect their inner world. Inside, the Russian can be clear, sunny, bright, beautiful, generous and very gentle. But he or she can also be cunning, vile, vicious, rude, mean. But outwardly it can be equally hidden.
In Russia, it is difficult to openly express what is inside you, because it is cold, people are most often closed in their homes and offices, alone. And their imagination develops indescribably deeply, vividly and independently. One must always bear in mind that the Russian thinks a lot more than he or she shows it. And his thoughts are often gloomy. Even if they are bright and kind, they are "bright in the dark."
Put yourself in this position, and you will understand what the Russian soul is, and how to behave with the Russians. To do this better, you need to live in Russia. There is little sun, cold, grey sky overhead, often rain and snow, people are covered under clothes, no one smiles, because there are no faces to be seen - most often this is a picture in the streets in Russia.
Therefore, it is required to read Russian books and articles, listen to their speech, watch first-person video stories in order to get an idea of how Russians think. This is the only way to find out what the Russian soul is and how to behave with Russians, to unravel their behaviour.
People living in Russia look like a three-layer cake. External manners are almost always well thought out. And even if it looks like a tantrum, do not let yourself be fooled, this is a well-designed tantrum. Why? Because a difficult life leaves no room for error.
Therefore, do not try to play polite, it will not lead to anything, it will look naive in the eyes of the Russians. Say only what is absolutely clear to you and act as if you are behind enemy lines and live the first and last day of your life - very carefully from all sides. You will never know until the end what the mysterious Russian soul intends to do. Therefore, how to behave with Russians is a constant improvisation. But it is important to be able to wrap and turn everything in favour. Then they will be grateful. Look at things as broadly as possible - with all the possible bad and good shades, be prepared for anything.
Consider the features.
The complexity is added by the fact that the “Russians” are actually a collective image, under which the descendants of the most diverse and dissimilar cultures are hiding. Those in the South are related to the Mediterranean cultures. They have historical myths similar to ancient Greek, their behaviour is similar to the behavior of the Greeks or Italians, similar to DNA, probably. Those in the North are more like Germans or Swedes. But with the difference that they cannot identify themselves, they have to deal with a variety of traditions, and this does not give the calmness that is characteristic of the Swedes. And this does not allow just to make your house strong and solid, as it is with the Germans.
Russia is created problems.
According to the observations of the Stockholm Business School, the difference between the regions in Russia is very noticeable. This is not surprising since Russia is a huge country. The culture and history of Russia is a wide mosaic of dramatic events that are not the same in the south, north, west and east of the country. But there have always been more or less successful attempts to align these events with a certain central line, which was supported by the tsar, then the Communist Party, then the Soviet Union, and now the federal government. The difficulties of this way of aligning were reflected in the ambiguity of the regulations and legislation. The mysterious Russian soul has created complex rules for how to behave.
In addition, business communities have distinctive features in different regions. Running a business in Moscow is completely different from doing business in Sochi, for example. People in the south adhere to different traditions than in the north. In the south, people are more sociable, hospitable, generous. In the north, people are more restrained, cutting, rational. Differences in business behaviour are also very noticeable when we compare young and more experienced managers. Young managers are much more ambitious, educated, cutting in judgments, assessments and actions. However, there are traits that make Russian businessmen similar. This is a tendency to express thoughts directly, leading to the essence of the issues that need to be addressed.
The mysterious Russian soul does not reveal itself openly but leads directly to questions that are important to it.
Russians do not always have pleasant behaviour and manners. Rather, they want to see everything that can be hidden from the outside, deep down. Therefore, they often use alcohol as a means to "open the soul." The Russians are interested in scale and exciting prospects, probably because their country is huge. In a word, you need to come to the Russians with something large-scale, thorough, well-prepared and well-developed. They will try it for strength, and if they find vulnerability or weakness, they will take advantage of it, sometimes openly, but sometimes hidden. In science and business, Russians have in-depth knowledge that is not always equipped with appropriate technology.
Therefore, the basis for cooperation with Russians should be considered to have a good understanding of natural processes, complemented by a decision on technical design and a clear vision of the implementation of this design in the product, without any half-ways. This is a very schematic description of what a mysterious Russian soul is and how to behave with Russians.
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