Lots. It's only chronically negative people who believe that most smiles are false. Some people just enjoy being alive and so they smile.
Even polite smiles are still polite and show concern for the emotions of the other.
When Russians glower at me and talk in their cynical, biting tone I feel as if they don't care about me or my feelings and aren't interested in a positive emotional exchange.
Russians suck all the life out of rooms with their frowns and sarcasm.
"Enjoy being alive" is not something most people in the modern world are capable of doing... Being in the now and being without false desires takes quite a bit of awareness, self-reflection and meditation.
Most people live very shallow, materialistic, egotistical, narcissistic lives. They also smile to seem happy, friendly, and desirable. It does not represent the real person inside.
Take what you have written: it's judgmental, borderline racist, and narcissistic.
There is little chance that you are truly enjoying life, except in the typical / selfish ways (I'm not that much different).
No one can "suck all the life out of a room." If their behavior affects you in such a way, it is only so because you require / desire perceived positivity from the rest of the world. It's like a drug / an opiate that keeps you from screaming inside.
You just 'sucked the life' out of this thread and proved forensic's point about 'chronically negative people.' :(
Also, in a topic like this where we're examining differences between cultures, it's pretty implicit that we're speaking generally. If that's racist, any cultural examination is racist.
I don't see why you have to be chronically negative to believe that a smile that isn't genuine is necessarily "false". When referring to a genuine smile, we usually refer to a Duchenne smile[1] — one in which the muscles around the eyes also crease. Just because a smile isn't on the spot genuine doesn't mean it's false, as the thought behind it can still be there.
But it's also important to note that this is an expectation of your culture — it's not as obvious to me that smiling all the time is necessarily a "happiness" thing. Surely you must be aware of the stereotypes that are held by other cultures of Americans?
The fact that you see Russians as people who suck the life out of the room, just suggests to me that you are projecting your expectations of societal norms on other societies — where they don't necessarily fit.
I am sure many have experienced people in a social situation acting extremely happy to see each other, however, once alone some of these people(not necessarily Russians) start trying to draw a wedge between themselves and the others via backstabbing/two faced behavior. You will see it on school playgrounds, you will see it with friendships & you will see it in the professional world. This leads you to be distrusting of the smile. I smile, you smile, but it doesn't really break the ice because I don't know who you really are or what your motives are. I may see you smiling & shaking hands with the person you were just bitching about ten minutes ago. Again more distrust.
Reading & listening beyond the obvious expression may be more valuable than just taking it at "face value".
That said, the smile is probably more useful as a default than a glower or frown. At least it does seem to present a willingness to open dialog. People are more likely to approach someone who is smiling at them, than someone who is sending them an icy look.
Even polite smiles are still polite and show concern for the emotions of the other.
When Russians glower at me and talk in their cynical, biting tone I feel as if they don't care about me or my feelings and aren't interested in a positive emotional exchange.
Russians suck all the life out of rooms with their frowns and sarcasm.