Teaching American Business Writing in Russia

Abstract

This article describes the writer's experiences teaching American business writing in Russia and attempting to find documents for comparison of Russian and American approaches to business communication. She discovered that most documents common in the United States are rare or nonexistent in Karelia, where in many ways organizational culture is oral culture; documents exist largely to show to officials rather than to communicate with customers, clients, superiors, or subordinates. Although Hall's model of high-context communication accounts for some cultural differences between Americans and Russians, it is important to note the differences between Russians operating in official mode and in personal mode to understand the amount of explicitness and directness appropriate in various situations.