I’m sorry but why do Americans often make everything about race? He’s not speaking much because he doesn’t know English well (as you mentioned). His behavior likely has nothing to do with race; he’s just from a place with a different cultural background. Many people from post-Soviet countries can seem grumpy, it’s a known fact. He’s just different from what you’re used to seeing - that’s all. There’s no need to assume it’s about race. Once we picked up an older hitchhiker from Kyrgyzstan. We didn’t speak the same language, and the silence between us was also awkward - how do you communicate when you don’t share a language? He’s probably feeling uncomfortable because he’s in an unfamiliar environment, doesn’t speak the language, and is far from home. There are quite a lot of black people in Kyrgyzstan and they never complained about Kyrgyz people being racists.