The Guardian has a story today about Professor Veenhoven from Holland, who has just published an article called “Are the Russians as Unhappy as They Say They Are?” Veenhoven saw lots of surveys coming out of Russia saying that everyone was unhappy, but he didn’t believe it. However, after exhaustive study, he was forced to conclude…
“It appears that the Russians are as unhappy as they say they are, and that they have good reasons to be.”
I’d have to say that, based on my own very subjective examination of how many people on the street smile during a day in both England and Russia, the Russians have nothing to worry about.
April 7th, 2004 at 4:17 pm
I tried to smile at people when I was in Russia. They thought I was a lunatic.
Then again, they did in London too.
April 9th, 2004 at 3:03 am
My ability to pull off the expressionless face of a Russian in public led many in Uzbekistan to mistake me for a genuine Russian. I really believed this when strangers stopped me for directions in my city.
April 10th, 2004 at 11:10 pm
In Russia, a smile means “funny,” not “happy.” Russians think we aren’t serious because we are always “laughing.” You need a different metric for happiness.