Originally Posted by
Evening Star
Rumour has it that smiling at the passport officer is a bad idea ... something to do with smiling at a stranger means, in Russian way of thinking, that one is up to no good!
Explained to me that the photo in the passport is you not smiling, and the Russian officers do a very precise comparison, so they want that you should be the same.
You will notice that part way through the process they do indeed do a very formal stare at your face, they are doing this check. Probably something dreamed up by the KGB years ago. You can smile at other times.
You don't need to speak to them. They are quite used to Westerners not speaking Russian. But if you do a nice "spasibo" as you leave they will do a little smile and it will be appreciated.
it seems to be local culture that if you have children with you, then you don't need to queue
The only locals who can afford to travel by air with children are New Russians. They barge to the front of every queue, airport or not, with children or not. This has always been the way for Russians who think they are the elite. The Communist Party officials did it, and before them the Czar's family and nobles did it.