Russia itself is an extremely complex country, and sometimes I feel like all of that comes back to haunt me. I can see why so many Russian writers were so tortured.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The great drama of Russian history has been between its state and society. Put simply, Russia has always had too much state and not enough society.
I feel very uneasy with a lot of aspects of the Russian life and the Russian people.
Russia is tough. The history, the land, the people - brutal.
The Russians are extreme people: they are generous but crazy at the same time. They always have something to say, and I really like that.
I'm actually embarrassed to tell people I'm Russian these days, because it's become such an awful place.
The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks.
Many Russia experts note the deep and sad capacity of the Russian people for suffering.
I took a 19th-century Russian novel class in college and have been smitten with Russian literature ever since. Writers like Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Grossman, and Solzhenitsyn tackle the great questions of morality, politics, love, and death.
I didn't choose Russia but Russia chose me. I had been fascinated from an early age by the culture, the language, the literature and the history to the place.
Much that we read of Russia is imagination and desire only.