Many Russia experts note the deep and sad capacity of the Russian people for suffering.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The Russians are a very sentimental people.
I mean that at least 80% of the Russian people feel destitute. It's the people who had their past and future taken from them - they don't get paid - many of them face a wall. They have nowhere to go.
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.
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 don't have many Russian friends. My childhood friends are dead - either from bad health, or they died in perestroika.
Russia is tough. The history, the land, the people - brutal.
I feel very uneasy with a lot of aspects of the Russian life and the Russian people.
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.
From the country with limited hope to grow your own business and express your own personality, Russia has become the land of significant opportunity.
People in Russia adapt to misery by a deep, deep humor.