Comment by wellthisisgreat

Americans (assuming you are an American) are used to people confirming that they are paying attention throughout the conversation (“Mhm”, “yes”, “I see”, etc.). Russians don’t do that. If they don’t have anything to add, they won’t, unless prompted.

You can just ask if they understood you, agree or disagree. It’s not super common to act like you described, but common enough to be a cultural thing.