Intercultural Differences
POLAND & RUSSIA
POLAND
POLAND
General Information
Population: 38,635,000
Capital: Warsaw 1.6 million
Main cities: Krakow 0.8 million, Wrolaw 0.6
million
Currency: Zloty, Groszy
Fertility rate: 1.39
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years
Main religous group:Roman Catholic (98,8%)
POLAND
•
lost independence in World War II
•
became a communist country under
the control of the former Soviet Union
•
freed itself in 1989 by the democratic
party “Solidarnosc”
•
accepted in the EU in 2004
POLAND
Culture: Greeting
• usually handshake
• flatter women by a kiss on the hand
• personal title use, Mr (Pan), Mrs (Pani) followed
by the first name or surname
•hugs (also men)
POLAND
Culture: Cuisine
• while eating no conversations
• large vodka consumption, toast to the guest
• vodka bottle has to be emptied
POLAND
Culture: Business
• punctuality is vital for establishing your
reliability
• begin and end business with a small gift
• building individual business relationships
• particular attention and respect must be paid to
older people
• negotiations are reserved and thoughtful
POLAND
Do’s and Don’ts
Do use personal titles
Personal titles use, Mr. (Pan), Mrs. (Pani)
followed by first name or surname
title: director , doctor (in business)
Do try to learn some basic Polish words greeting
phrases:
Dzień dobry (hello), Dobry wieczór
(good evening), Do widsenja (Good-bye)
POLAND
Do’s and Don’ts
Do smile and maintain direct eye contact during
your conversation
Don't be surprised if after the first meeting your
partner engages more friendly conversation once
initial relationship has been established
Don't over compliment
Don't try to hide your feelings and emotions
POLAND
Kroków
POLAND
Kroków stare miasto
old town
POLAND
Kroków stare miasto
old town
POLAND
Szczawnica
POLAND
Dunajec
POLAND
Dunajec
POLAND
Dunajec
POLAND
Szczawnica
POLAND
Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?
When entering the meeting room in
Poland, if there are people you do not
know, you should wait for a third
person to initiate introductions ?
POLAND
Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?
Polish offices operate an open door
policy where you are free to enter and
discuss business at any time
POLAND
Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?
If you are invited to a Polish home, a
small gift such as a bottle of wine or
flowers for your host is generally
expected
POLAND
Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?
Meetings are often scheduled for a
Sunday when people have more
time do discuss business matters.
POLAND
Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?
It is quit acceptable to greet your Polish
business colleagues with three “ air
kisses”
RUSSIA
RUSSIA
General Information
Population: 142,754,000
Capital: Moscow 10,5 million
Main cities: St. Petersburg 4,7 million,
Novosibirsk 1,4 million
Currency: Rubel, kopek
Fertility rate: 1.34
Life expectancy at birth: 65.87 years
Main religous group: Russian-orthodox (66%)
RUSSIA
• Boris Yeltsin established the Russian Federation
in 1992 after the decay of the Soviet Union
• in 2000 Vladimir Putin became President
• Russian economy increases by 5 % to 10 %
RUSSIA
Culture: Greeting
• when welcoming people, consider the ranking
order and say the name with the titel of the person
• give a strong handshake as it shows character
• polite to name people by first name + “owitsch”
(men) / ”ovna” (women)
RUSSIA
Culture: Cuisine
• Russian cuisine with high fat content 
impolite not to try
• large vodka consumption  always after a toast
• drinking vodka always goes in hand with eating
• more people drink tea than coffee
• it is allowed to smoke during the whole meal
RUSSIA
Culture: Other
• important to make gifts (but no vodka!)
• Russians show great hospitality
• Russians are rather conservative
 better to wear conservative clothing
with ordinary colours
 you should not wear shorts, short
skirts, clothings
RUSSIA
Culture: Business
• punctuality very important
• negotiations take longer than in Germany with
more restaurant attendance
• timetables aren’t binding  more flexible
• Russians are rather neutral
• confidence and personal relationship are very
important
RUSSIA
Don’ts
• never drink alcohol alone
• never give away yellow flowers  symbol of
misfortune
RUSSIA
St. Basil's Cathedral and the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin
RUSSIA
Rostov-na-Donu
RUSSIA
Kamchatka
RUSSIA
Moscow State University
RUSSIA
Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?
Russians like to get gifts in form of
vodka!
RUSSIA
Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?
When greeting people it is always
“ladies first”!
RUSSIA
Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?
Russian negotiations take longer than
in Germany!
RUSSIA
Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?
Russians like to critic often and directly
during a negotiation!
POLAND & RUSSIA
Lukas and Vicky say
“Dzienkuje” and “Спасибо!“
for your attention