I find this article quaint. It at one point says: > It was really different from Europe, where people are mostly polite, but quite reserved in their non-verba

I find this article quaint. It at one point says: > It was really different from Europe, where people are mostly polite, but quite reserved in their non-verbal expressions. but it also says: > Very often Western people criticize Russians for being too gloomy and unfriendly because we never smile. It seems to be somewhat undecided on whether the smiling culture is a U.S.A. idiosyncrasy, or a “western" one, and it very much is the former, I believe, the U.S.A. cultural emphasis on smiles is wel known throughout most of the world, including most of “the west”.