Quote Originally Posted by Suobig View Post
I don't think it's aimed at creating negative image. It's just bunch of stamps and observations with no effort to verify or analyze. Hundreds of such articles exist, nothing interesting.

I don't understand that stamp about russians standing close to each other while speaking. This explanations "This may be a remnant from the Soviet past when people had to be very careful about what they said and always made sure that no one else was listening." is ridiculous. USSR was not Oceania from "1984". You could speak out loud anything that was not unethical or illegal. As well as in any other country. There were some ideological topics that should had been discussed with care. But danger of such things is greatly exaggerated.

We just don't understand what "personal space" is. Of course, I would not feel comfortable standing in front of someone who's not my girlfriends with our faces closer than lets say 50cm. But I don't have any special "lets talk" distance. Well, it would be a bit weird if I speak with someone who's 5m from me, if i can come closer.
It took me a long time to get used to Russian concepts of personal space. But I never once thought, "oh, yes, this must be a sign of the oppressive Soviet times." I think that is a very strange, and unfair, observation to make. It seems like a lot of westerners will try to psychoanalyze Russia, as if they need to have some time or place to explain what caused the people to behave a certain way. And maybe Russian history has a role in shaping Russian behavior, but if so, it certainly goes back much further than the comparable blink-of-an-eye that was Soviet times. Some cultural behaviors may be more a result of the intermix of different ethnicities in Russia, too. The vikings certainly brought their own culture with them, as did the mongols, and the turks, and other ethnic groups which became part of the Russian melting pot.