From Nyet to Da.

• Author: Handley, John
• Position: Book review

Yale Richmond, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer, worked on U.S.-Soviet exchanges for over twenty years and served in the American Embassy in Moscow as Counselor for Press and Culture. He also authored Into Africa; From Da to Yes: Understanding the East Europeans; and Practicing Public Diplomacy: A Cold War Odyssey. (Editor's Note: See Richmond's Foreign Service Life article in this issue.)

Yale reveals the essence of this book in the closing line to his introductory chapter "Welcome to Moscow" when he states that Russians can appear cold and impersonal, "where a visitor's requests are all too often met with an automatic nyet. But Russians respond to a human approach, and they can be warm and helpful once a good interpersonal relationship has been established." Yale proceeds to tell his readers how to establish such a relationship. This book is not specifically designed to inform or impress a student of foreign policy or international relations. It is meant as a "how to" book; that is, how to get along in Russia for a first-time visitor, specifically a student, a businessperson, or a tourist. Although foreign diplomats will have already experienced all the training and instruction required for success, the book does offer some potentially important insights into how Russians think both about themselves and about non-Russians, and it provides a valuable chapter on negotiating with Russians.

Yale begins with a history lesson in chapter two, "Geography and Culture," describing the origins of Russia, the cold north, the effects of distance and isolation on Russians, Communalism, the role of nationality in this multi-national and multi-lingual state, and he ends the chapter with a discussion on the role and importance of religion in Russia today. Chapter three, "Culture and Character," delves into the psychological makeup of modern day Russians weighed down by decades if not centuries of neglect and abuse from authoritarian rulers, with emphasis on their egalitarianism, their automatic caution and pronounced conservatism, the great degree of pessimism most Russian express, and their seemingly constant fluxionary movement between extremes and contradictions. The author expresses great regard for "the Russian soul" describing it as a profound gift to both the Western and Eastern worlds. He also provides examples of the Russian admiration for anything big. In Russia, "big is beautiful." Yale explains to his readers that Russian women generally...