ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images
From Siberia to Moscow, I experienced some bewildering culture clashes during my time in Russia.
- This summer, I spent 12 days traveling through Russia for Business Insider.
- I went inside the Kremlin in Moscow, visited a diamond mine in Siberia, and spent two days riding the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway.
- While my travels were mostly smooth sailing, I did experience some cultural clashes.
- At first, I thought most Russians I saw looked very stern and unfriendly, but I soon realized they simply don't smile at strangers like Americans do.
- I also found some of Russia's views on gender to be a bit outdated.
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This summer, I spent 12 days traveling through Russia for Business Insider.
I ate at a Russian McDonald's, went inside the Kremlin in Moscow, visited a diamond mine in Siberia, and spent two days riding the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway.
I even got to spend a night in the $18,000-a-night presidential suite at the Moscow Ritz-Carlton. One of my most memorable experiences was visiting a 200-year-old Russian bathhouse, where I paid $85 to be whacked with branches and doused in ice-cold water.
While my travels were mostly smooth sailing, I did experience some cultural clashes. Here are six cultural differences that tripped me up in Russia.