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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not to get political, but can anyone recommend books on the Russian identity, why they think & act the way they do, etc. does it stem from Peter the Great or the time of great distrust under Soviet rule? From serfdom to war of 1812 and world wars, etc? I think Ken Follett did a fine job, as well as Rutherford, but they are researchers, and can't truly convey the identity. TIA! [/quote]

It appears that you’d like to read some quality Russian-bashing :) literature. I remember a Russian analyst on this board with ridiculous impressions , so maybe s/he could help with your search. I suggest this book https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Art-Soviet-Cooking-Longing/dp/0307886824

Russians are different just like Americans are, with many social and cultural elements responsible for the diversity in views, life styles, etc. I was traumatized by my Russian childhood in many ways, but I appreciated a healthy dose of fun absurdity in my life and I do miss it.  I find Mexico in many ways similar on some “spiritual level”, although I can never clearly conceptualize why.[/quote]

[b]I wouldn't say I was traumatized by my Russian childhood but there were certainly some negative parts to growing up there.  There was also much that was good, and looking back at it from here, I appreciate it even more.  
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[b]OP, it won't do you any good to read the foreigners' attempts to catalog the "Russian identity." [/b] The best thing to do, if you want to understand a culture, is to immerse yourself in how this culture expresses itself.  This will give you more clues to the "mysterious Russian soul" than all the Fionas Britain ever produced.  Read Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, read Chekhov, Kuprin, Bunin.  Read Bulgakov, although that's hard to get for a foreigner.  Read Fazil Iskander. Read Rybakov. Read Yuri Nagibin, read Daniil Granin.  Read Voynovich. Then read some more.[/quote]
+1.
I call BS on the entire 'Russian identity' premise. Is there a clear "American identity" and what books should we read to fully grasp it? 
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