As an American Company looking to expand into Russia several key challenges would be
faced upon attempting entrance into the Russian market. The most obvious barrier, and one
of the most significant differences between the United States and Russia, is the drastic
difference between the de facto primary languages spoken. Though the use of English is on
the rise in Russia, Russian is the official state language and it differs significantly from
English, both in the primary letters/characters used and socially accepted norms for what
words mean. Another significant cultural difference in Russia is that less emphasis is
placed on religion versus the United States as a whole. In fact, the largest outdoor
swimming pool in the world, located in Moscow, is pit that was formed from demolition of
the largest Russian Orthodox Church in the world, originally planned to be replaced by a
monumental Soviet building but the swimming pool is what remains. The difficulties in
translating English advertisements into Russian will make advertising more workable in
the ads are produced domestically in Russia. This will ensure a higher accuracy of socially
acceptable wording and the correct intent of the advertisement is transmitted to the
audience. Additionally, the lack of religious encumberment in Russia will allow a freer
hand when it comes to creative content and use of sexuality or other attention grabbing
mechanisms otherwise prohibited in the United States.
There are many traditions and customs in Russian society; however, the distribution of
these traditions and customs has a high degree of variance dependent upon which age
demographic is applied. The great dividing line in Russian culture is 1991, which was the
collapse of the Soviet regime and the reformatting of the Russian economy from a state
controlled central economy to a more capitalistic one. The older generations who live in
Russia under the Soviet system have more collectivist ideals and greater trust in the central
state government. They also tend to be more traditional and follow more of the older
Russian customs and superstitions. The younger generation, which have spent most of
their teen/adult lives after 1991 are more individualistic and place less trust in the authority
of the central government and the customs and traditions of the day of old. This
generational dichotomy can also be seen in the differences and attitudes the groups have
about privacy and openness. Though both generations when compared to western
populations would be considered more reserved and less open, the older generation is
