Russian etiquette involves firm handshakes while maintaining eye contact as a greeting. Names consist of a first, patronymic, and last name used in varying levels of formality. Gift giving occurs on holidays and flowers are expected if invited to a meal. Arrive on time to meals and do not begin eating until invited. Meetings require advance scheduling and include socializing before business. Popular tourist attractions display Russian architecture, art, and nature such as Lake Baikal and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Traditions surround newborns, travel, and birthdays to bring good luck.

1. Russian Etiquette

2. Meeting Etiquette
The typical greeting is a firm, almost bone-crushing
handshake while maintaining direct eye contact
and giving the appropriate greeting for the time
of day.
• When men shake hands with women, the
handshake is less firm.
• When female friends meet, they kiss on the
cheek three times, starting with the left and then
alternating.
• When close male friends meet, they may pat
each other on the back and hug.

3. Naming Conventions
Russian names are comprised of:
First name, which is the person's given name.
• Middle name, which is a patronymic or a version of the
father's first name formed by adding '- vich' or '-ovich'
for a male and '-avna' or '- ovna' for a female. The son
of Ivan would have a patronymic of Ivanovich while the
daughter's patronymic would be Ivanovna.
• Last name, which is the family or surname.
• In formal situations, people use all three names.
Friends and close acquaintances may refer to each
other by their first name and patronymic. Close friends
and family members call each other by their first name
only.

4. Gift Giving Etiquette
Gift giving using takes place between family and
close friends on birthdays, New Year, and
Orthodox Christmas.
If you are invited to a Russian home for a meal,
bring a small gift.
• Male guests are expected to bring flowers.
• Do not give yellow flowers.
• Russians often protest when they are offered a
gift. Reply that it is a little something and offer
the gift again and it will generally be accepted.

5. Dining Etiquette
If you are invited to a Russian's house:
Arrive on time or no more than 15 minutes later than
invited.
• Remove your outdoor shoes. You may be given slippers
to wear.
• Dress in clothes you might wear to the office. Dressing
well shows respect for your hosts.
• Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or
clearing up after a meal is served. This may be turned
down out of politeness. Asking 'are you sure?' allows
the hostess to accept your offer.

6. Table manners
Table manners are generally casual.
Table manners are Continental -- the fork is held in the left hand
and the knife in the right while eating.
• The oldest or most honoured guest is served first.
• Do not begin eating until the host invites you to start.
• Do not rest your elbows on the table, although your hands should
be visible at all times.
• You will often be urged to take second helpings.
• It is polite to use bread to soak up gravy or sauce.
• Men pour drinks for women seated next to them.
• Leaving a small amount of food on your plate indicates that your
hosts have provided ample hospitality.
• Do not get up until you are invited to leave the table. At formal
dinners, the guest of honor is the first to get up from the table.

7. Russian Business
Etiquette and
Protocol

8. Business Meeting Etiquette
Appointments are necessary and should be made as far in advance as possible.
• It often takes roughly 6 weeks to arrange a meeting with a government official.
• The first week of May has several public holidays so it is best avoided.
• You should arrive punctually for meetings.
• Typical Russian schedules are constantly changing and everything takes longer
than expected, so be prepared to be kept waiting.
• Meetings can be cancelled on short notice.
• Expect a long period of socializing and getting-to-know-you conversation before
business is discussed.
• Have all printed material available in both English and Russian.
• Russians expect long and detailed presentations that include a history of the
subject and a review of existing precedents.
• Meetings are frequently interrupted. It is common for several side conversations
that have nothing to do with the topic of the meeting to be carried on during the
meeting.
• At the end of the meeting, expect to sign a 'protokol', which is a summary of what
was discussed.

9. Tourist Attractions

10. Saint Basil's Cathedral
• Built between 1554 and
1561.
• Situated in the heart of
Moscow, St. Basil’s
Cathedral has been
among the top tourist
attractions in Russia.
• Designed to resemble the
shape of a bonfire in full
flame, the architecture is
not only unique to the
period in which it was
built but to any
subsequent period.
• There is no other
structure on earth quite
like St. Basil’s Cathedral.

11. Hermitage Museum
• Founded in 1764 by
Catherine the Great, the
Hermitage Museum in
Saint Petersburg, Russia.
• It is a massive museum of
art and culture showing the
highlights of a collection of
over 3 million items
spanning the globe.
• The collections occupy a
large complex of six historic
buildings including the
Winter Palace, a former
residence of Russian
emperors.

12. Moscow Kremlin
• The Kremlin is a must-see
attraction for anyone visiting
Moscow.
• Home to the nation’s top
governmental offices, the
walled enclosure also houses
four cathedrals built in the
15th and 16th century as well
as several notable museums.
• The 250-acre grounds include
the Armoury, filled with royal
treasures of the past, and the
Diamond Fund Exhibition, a
collection of jewelry that
includes a 190-carat diamond
given to Catherine the Great.

13. Suzdal
• Once the capital of several
Russian principalities,
Suzdal is the jewel of
Russia’s “Golden Ring,”
ancient cities that the
country has preserved as
living museums of Russia’s
cultural past.
• Those who wish to
experience the best of
Russia’s historic
architecture, full of onion-
dome topped kremlins,
cathedrals and
monasteries, will find it in
Suzdal.
• Dating back to 1024, the
entire city is like a large
open-air museum that
transports visitors back in
time.

14. Lake Baikal
• Many travelers on the Trans-
Siberian railway make plans to
stop at Lake Baikal, the
deepest and oldest lake on
Earth.
• Lake Baikal holds around 20
percent of the world’s fresh
water.
• Located in Siberia, the 25-
million-year-old lake is
surrounded by mountain
ranges.
• The lake is considered one of
the clearest lakes in the world.
Known as the Pearl of Siberia,
Lake Baikal is home to several
resorts, making the area a
popular vacation destination.

15. St Sophia Cathedral, Novgorod
• Located in Novgorod,
Russia’s oldest city, Saint
Sophia Cathedral is
situated within the grounds
of the city’s Kremlin.
• Standing 125 feet high and
adorned with five
spectacular domes, the
cathedral is the oldest
church building in Russia.
• Saint Sophia Cathedral
features an array of ancient
religious artifacts, including
The Mother of God of the
Sign, an icon that legend
says saved Novgorod from
attack in 1169.
• The cathedral’s three
famous ornately carved
gates also date back to the
12th century.

16. Kizhi Island
• Located in Karelia, a region in
Northwestern Russia that
borders Finland and the
White Sea, Kizhi Island is best
known for its incredible
open-air museum.
• Karelians have lived in the
region since the 13th
century, torn between the
cultures of the East and the
West.
• The museum’s collection
features the 120-foot high
Church of the Transfiguration
of Our Savior, a structure
made famous by its 22
domes.
• Other tourist attractions
includes dozens of wooden
houses, windmills, chapels
and barns.

17. Valley of Geysers
• Situated on the
Kamchatka Peninsula in
the Russian Far East.
• The Valley of Geysers is
the second largest geyser
field in the world.
• The Valley of Geysers
was discovered in 1941
by local scientist Tatyana
Ustinova.
• Since then it became a
popular tourist attraction
in Kamchatka and
attracts a lot of interest
from scientists and
tourists.

18. Mount Elbrus
• Mount Elbrus is located in
the Caucasus Mountain
Range in Southern Russia.
• At 5,642 meters (18,510 ft),
Elbrus is included as one of
the Seven Summits, the
highest summits on each of
the planet’s seven
continents, attracting both
experienced and novice
mountain climbers.
• While the mountain was
formed from a volcano, it is
considered dormant, with
no recorded eruptions.
• A cable car system can take
visitors as high as 3,800
meters (12,500 ft),
facilitating ascents to the
summit.

19. Trans-Siberian Railway
• Part of the longest railway
system in the world, the
classic Trans-Siberian railway
runs from Moscow to
Vladivostok, a city near
Russia’s borders with China
and North Korea.
• Begun in 1891 by Tsar
Alexander III and completed
by his son, Tsar Nicholas II,
in 1916, the line is known as
the route of the tsars.
• Most travelers use the train
as overnight
accommodation from one
destination to the next.
• The train features first-,
second- and third-class
sleepers, some with private
bathrooms and showers

20. Traditions and
Superstitions

21. New Born Babies
• Mothers typically do not show their baby to anyone except
the father, the midwife and other close relatives for forty
days after the baby is born.
• Many nationalities have a set of rituals for the guests that
they have to follow to see the baby for the first time.
• A stranger should not look at a newborn baby before it is a
certain age (between two months and one year). If one
looks at the baby it is considered bad luck to compliment it.
Instead, one could say, "Oh, what an ugly child!“
• Things bought for a newborn baby (such as clothes, toys,
furniture, etc.) should only be purchased after the baby is
born. This is usually done in a big hurry.

22. Travelers
• Before leaving for a long journey, travelers and all those who are
seeing them off, must sit for a moment in silence before leaving the
house.
• It is often conveniently written off as a time to sit and think of
anything one may have forgotten.
• Another version of the superstition states that the traveler must sit
for a moment on or beside their suitcase.
• After someone has left the house on a long journey, their room
and/or their things should not be cleaned up until they have
arrived, or at least a day has passed if they are guests in a house.
• Returning home for forgotten things is a bad omen. It is better to
leave it behind, but if returning is necessary, one should look in the
mirror before leaving the house again. Otherwise the journey will
be bad.

23. Birthdays and Gifts
• Birthday parties should be celebrated on or after
one's birthday, not before. So when one's
birthday falls during the week, it's best to
celebrate the following weekend. And never give
someone birthday wishes before their birthday.
• When giving an animal as a gift (a cat, dog, bird,
etc.), the receiver should give the giver a symbolic
sum of money, for example one Russian ruble.
• A purse (or any other money holder) as a gift
requires a little money inside. Given empty it is
said to cause bad financial luck.

24. Body
• It is bad luck to use physical hand gestures to demonstrate something
negative using oneself or someone else as the object. For example, when
describing a scar you saw on someone's face you should not gesture on
your own face or someone else's. If you must, you can demonstrate in
mid-air. If one does it without realizing, it can be countered by making a
hand motion towards the body part used and then an abrupt motion away
(as if to pick up the bad energy and throw it away) or by wiping the area
with your hand and then blowing on your hand (as if to wipe off the bad
energy and then blow it away).
• If one person accidentally steps on another person's foot, it is common for
the person who was stepped on to lightly step on the foot of the person
who stepped first. It is said that they thus avoid a future conflict.
• It is often considered taboo to step over people, who are on the ground. It
is often said that it will prevent the person from growing (if they are not
fully grown already). It is better to politely ask the person to move or to
find a way around them. If one accidentally steps over a person (or
people), it is sometimes standard to step backwards over them.
• If one walks underneath or ducks under the arm of another person, he or
she must go back underneath that person's arm. Otherwise, he or she will
never grow to full height

25. Exams
• On examination day, it is bad luck to make your
bed, wear anything new, or cut your fingernails.
• Before one takes an exam, someone else would
say, "ни пуха ни пера!" which roughly translates
to "neither fur, nor feather!" which means good
luck. To this, the one taking the exam would reply,
"К чёрту!" which means, "Go to the Devil!" or "To
the Devil!" which is a way of securing good luck.

26. Birds
• Birds that land on a windowsill should be
chased away. If they tap on the window, or fly
into it (open or closed) it is considered a very
bad omen (often of death).
• If a chicken crows at you three times before
noon, the death of a close family member can
be expected within a fortnight. The chicken
should be killed, but not eaten, as consuming
it will bring about further misfortune.

27. Knife related
• Bread should only be cut with a knife, not with your
hands. Otherwise, it is said, that your life will be
broken. The opposite is held true by some people.
• One should never hand a knife directly to another
person, as it is said that the two will get into a fight.
Instead a person should always place the knife down
on a surface, and only then can the other person pick it
up. In several cases you can give it directly, but only
pointing the sharp end to yourself and making the
knife's handle accessible for the opposite person.

28. Other
• Unmarried people should not sit at the corner
of the table..
• Whistling in a house would bring misfortune
to that household.
• Talking about future success.