There are some fundamental mentalities of Russian businessmen. Anyone doing business in modern Russia or with Russians would benefit from knowing this, as much business behavior is driven by mindsets.
These five mindsets are
1. How things happen or not
2. Decision making – Hierarchy
3. Concept of time
4. Connections – “blah“
5. Faith in the system itself
6. Conspicuous consumption
How things happen or not
In Russia, how things happen or don’t happen is a very difficult mystery for outsiders to understand. For example, in neighboring Finland, things (excluding matters that have to do with politics) tend to happen quite systematically in a bureaucratic way and the process is usually quite transparent. In Russia, nothing important happens without a crisis or great drama that forces people to act, and the forces behind such crises may remain hidden from view. When you’re stuck in this “dormant period,” don’t tell the Russians that they are lazy or inefficient. This is a big mistake. They are immensely proud of their culture, their status as a superpower, and achievements such as space exploration.
Decision making – Hierarchy
Russia is a very hierarchical society and decision-making processes are very different from Western models (especially Finnish and Swedish). It is very important to remember the hierarchical nature of Russian society with a very large power distance in business dealings. Who approaches whom in business is crucial to success. Today, Russian businessmen pay a lot of attention to how they dress. Russians in general probably spend more money from their family budget on clothes than any other nation in the world. Those who cannot afford to buy clothes from the best fashion brands (such as Versace, Armani or Hugo Boss) prefer to dress in cheaper but well-made clothes. There is an old Russian proverb: “They want to meet you according to how you are dressed, and they say goodbye according to how wise you seem.”
time concept
Many businessmen from neighboring Finland have begun to embrace the American concept of time: time is money. This is quite foreign to the Russian concept of time. Although it may not sound very academic, the Russian businessman is well aware of how Russia rose from the Novgorod days to become a superpower. Russian time does not go in a straight line; it’s more like a process of quantum leaps and little circles with no clear line joining them. So this long-standing concept permeates every action of the Russian businessman. If he loses his temper when things aren’t moving fast, he shows signs of immaturity.
Connections – “blah“
In Russia nothing significant moves without “Blat” or connections. People remember and count favors as currency. There is a great emphasis on building and maintaining cordial personal relationships through respect, gifts, favors and counter-favours.
Faith in one’s own system
The Finnish and Swedish neighbors believe that the Finnish or Swedish version of the democratic welfare state is the greatest achievement of the human mind and are very proud of it. Russians have a messianic approach to being Russian. For them, it is the embodiment of the dream about perfection: nature, the world, man, the life of man, the dream about the Golden Age, about the heavenly city – modern Rome. They believe that humanity always advances only if divine light illuminates the path. Until the fall of communism they rarely doubted this messianic mission. The current state of Russia, with high prices, insecurity, terrorist attacks and the failure of post-communist capitalism to bring heaven to earth has caused the Russian mentality to move towards “Learn and Embrace Everything Western!” never forgetting that “Mother Russia knows best”. The fact that people complain about the current state of affairs does not erode this basic messianic faith. The following joke highlights this faith.
“A Russian and an American die and both go to hell. Satan, the manager in charge of hell, asks them:”What the hell do you prefer, Russian or American??” “What is the difference?“asks the Russian.”In American hell, you’ll be forced to eat a bucket of junk every day; in Russian, two“Satan Explains. The American chooses to go to American Hell. The Russian, being a patriot, chooses Russian Hell. A year later, the two men meet.”How’s life?, asks the Russian.I can not complain,“American Responses”.I eat a bucket of waste every morning, and then I’m free for the rest of the day. What about you?” “could not be better!”, explains the Russian. “Like on earth! They are late with waste deliveries or have a shortage of buckets.”
conspicuous consumption
American economist Torstein Veblen first coined the term in his “The theory of the leisure class” in 1899. Veblen argued that economic life is not driven by notions of utility, but rather by social vestiges from prehistoric times and much of today’s society is just a variation of early tribal life. This tribal character of Russian life is very important in understanding the stratification of Russian society. Visible brands and symbols of success are priority number one. Here’s a good joke, which is very descriptive about the NR gold new riches.
After a car accident, an NR lies on the side of the road, crying out loud. Oh my BMW! – Regrets, – oh my bmw! A passerby is surprised to hear this and asks”How can you cry over your car, when you just lost your whole hand?“The NR assesses the situation and sums up their cries: Oh my Rolex! “
With the Russians, you can’t separate culture from business. Acquiring cultural insights and learning the rules of behavior is vital to success. It takes time to earn the trust and respect of the Russians. Da (Yes)! Once you earn that, they can be good and fun partners to do business with.