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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Not the PP you are addressing. I agree with you completely. To add to your point, I think that English-speaking and American authors that have been to Russia and wrote about it (like Hedrick Smith whom I read and agree with) can describe it from a perspective important to the English-speaking readers. [b]Hedrick Smith wrote about lack of freedom, how the Soviet people were afraid to interact with him because they did not want to get in trouble with the government.[/b] Hedrick Smith also criticized the Soviet Education system, the lack of respect for human dignity. Many Russian people still have the Soviet mentality and will think nothing of those details. Hedrick Smith also mentioned how many Russians venerated Stalin saying when he was around, they had more order, he was shocked how many Russians longed for the dictator, to be ruled by the iron fist.[/quote]

This has nothing to do with the national identity and everything to do with a very rational response to external stimuli.  If doing something non-critical brings you trouble, it is just as easy not to do it.

Today Russians interact with foreigners with no fear of prosecution. It is your contention that Russian national identity has changed?

This isn't "understanding Russian identity."  This is "please describe to me all the ways in which Russians are different from, and inferior to us."[/quote]
Numbers don’t lie. Russians are inferior to English-speaking and European people in many ways. People vote with their feet. During the Soviet years, peopke were fascinated with the Western culture, fashion, freedom, of which they had none. Only in Moscow you could buy bananas and oranges, many people had to learn how to sew because the government plan did not provide comfortable and stylish clothing. Everyday life made women age shortly after marriage and children. Men started dying in their 40s and 50s, which is still true today.

Science and culture in Russia was largely borrowed and bought from Europe and the US. Italians and Germans worked in Russia during Peter the Great years. Kremlin was built by an Italian architect,  and you can find a building similar to the Kremlin - Sforza Castle. During the Stalin industrialization in the 1930s, American engineers came to work there. Soviet cars were the copycats of European and American cars.

Much of Russian mentality originated from the Byzantine empire, and I think this where the backwardness, violence, and, most importantly, Orthodox religion comes from. In the 19th century Russia had two schools of thought - the Westerners and the Slavonophiles. Dostoyevsky belonged to the latter camp standing for Russia going its own way - Orthodox faith, empire, nationalism. Turgenev was a Westerner who wanted Russia to be closer to Europe and borrow European ideas and experience towards industrialism and economic growth.

Here lies your problem is that you don’t see Soviet horrors as a problem. The Soviet times are still affecting Russia today, including the mindset of many people who crave dictatorship, prohibitions and “order”.

Russian identity is supposedly not materialistic, which is similar to living in denial of physical reality. Due to years of the government having to think for the people, many are still unable to think independently and fall for all kinds of scams, which are frequently discussed in the media.

Another recent Levada center poll showed that 53% of Russian youth want to leave Russia to permanently reside abroad. The talent in Russia is neither appreciated nor supported. Most rich Russians have property and bank accounts in the US and Western Europe.

I think that many Russian people are intelligent, creative, they tend to be think about the future and opportunities, they don’t want to miss out on what the world has to offer. Unfortunately, due to decreasing social mobility, they are looking for those opportunities outside of Russia. I wish this was not the case, but it is. [/quote]

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