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Hofstead’s cultural dimensions test includes a so-called “6-D Model” that in turn explains six different “dimensions” of Russian culture. These six areas include: (1) power distance, (2) individualism, (3) masculinity, (4) uncertainty avoidance, (5) pragmatism, and (6) indulgence.

If one explores the Russian culture through the six different lenses of the Hofstedes 6-D Model, they can get a good look at some of the deep drivers of Russian culture relative to other culture around the world.

Power Distance:

This first dimension deals with the fact that all of the individuals in societies are not inherently equal. This dimension expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power distance is defined by Mr. Hofstede as, “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede).”

Russia, with a power distance score of ninety-three, is a nation where power is very distant in society at large. This fact is underlined in that the largest country in the world is extremely centralized. For example, two thirds of all foreign investments go into the city of Moscow where eighty percent of all financial potential is concentrated. This huge discrepancy between the less powerful and more powerful people leads to a great importance of status symbols. Behavior has to reflect and represent the status roles in all of the areas of business interactions, whether it is visits, negotiations, or cooperation; the approach should be top-down and provide clear mandates for any task at hand (Hofstede).

Individualism:

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a so...

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...ion, we do not become “human”. This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “indulgence” and relatively strong control is called “restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as indulgent or restrained (Hofstede).

The restrained nature of Russian culture is easily visible through its very low score of twenty in this dimension. Societies with a low score in this area have a tendency toward cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to indulgent societies, restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are restrained by certain social norms and feel that indulging themselves is indeed somewhat wrong (Hofstede).