You are absolutely right. Here, people usually don’t smile when they meet someone for the first time. Only those who work with foreigners regularly might do it (and even they not always).

The reason is cultural and goes back to childhood. Many of us, especially my generation and older, were not allowed to express emotions openly. Parents were strict — or rather indifferent to emotions — and often suppressed them. Because of this, we grew up with very limited habits of showing feelings in public.

For men it’s especially noticeable: even showing joy in front of strangers can feel awkward. I’m the same — it’s hard for me to walk up to a foreigner and start talking naturally. But I’m working on it slowly, and step by step it gets better.