WORTH REPEATING:

In Russia, there is no shame in lying. It’s a different civilization.

Yes, Europeans lie too, but they hide it, deny it, or, when pressed, apologize for it.

In Russia there’s no shame. They brag about it. The shame goes to the people who believed the lie.

In Russia, words are just sounds you make to distract enemies while destroying them. They consider Westerns, who generally take for granted that statements are made honestly and in good faith, as hopelessly weak and naive for doing so.

This is why they are a backward low-trust society. Everybody is trying to be strong, but lying to accomplish it. That’s why they can’t cooperate with each other, much less with outsiders. That’s why they can’t build a modern economy. That’s why, despite valuing strength above all else, they are very weak. They don’t know how to cooperate.