Collectivistic Russia and Individualistic Great Britain

Individualism-Collectivism interrelates with aspects of immediacy and the use of space. Individualism is characteristic of those from the UK. British emphasize the importance of individuality and privacy; they have been used to having more “personal space”. They display a relatively reserved behavior and value individual autonomy. Collectivistic cultures, such as Russia, are interdependent and as a result they work, live, and sleep in close proximity to one another (Andersen 2001:94). Russians tend to make physical contact and invade the other person’s place. They have been steeped in the belief that society is primary; privacy is not valued as high in Russia as it is in Great Britain. People in individualistic cultures smile more than in collectivistic, probably because individuals are responsible for their relationships and their own happiness, whereas collectivistic cultures personal or interpersonal happiness is secondary (Andersen 2001:94). For the British, a smile on being introduced signals pleasure making a new acquaintance and a sign of being polite. Broad smile and warm handshake of British may not be an invitation to closeness and is something that could be misinterpreted by Russians. These two opposing worldviews show up often in personal relationships between Russians and the British. Individualistic and collectivistic cultures also use time differently (Andersen 2001:94). Polychromic cultures to which belongs Russia are characterized by a great involvement with people. There is more emphasis on human transactions than on holding to schedules (Hall 1985:14). Russians find the importance of punctuality greatly exaggerated. Russian women will need more time to get organized and there will be frequent delays and postponements. Britain belongs to a monochronic time culture. Since time is highly valued in the UK, the attitude to it carries more weight than it does in polychromic countries. It is important therefore, to know how to read the messages associated with time in other cultures. Such divergent attitudes to time can create difficulties in Russian-British couples.