As a consequence of the regime in the country before 1991 when tipping was not very common, nowadays people from Russian cultural background don’t have a widespread consensus on whether or not to tip, how much and for what services. Still, with globalization and increased exchange of tousists and bisness people between Russia and the West in the past few decades, tipping is becomming part of the culture again but it differs depending on the location, type of the establishment, age of customers, etc. Tipping is most common in larger urban cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg in high-end restaurants, bars, coffee shops and hotels but not in self-served eating places, fast food chains & beer bars. In smaller towns tipping is not expected and it’s said that sometimes may even cause confusion. It is not uncommon for some people from older generations who grew up during the Soviet era to still detest tipping and find it rude. All in all, since tipping is voluntary, many customers give tip only when satisfied with the service.

Hospitality staff needs to be aware of these specificities about tipping and know that if Russian visitors don’t tip it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not happy with the service or are rude; it might be due to the above-mentioned circumstances.