I'll just say that I really hope ag replies to this one.
Too big a topic, in every sense of the word. I'd need more specific questions to answer - otherwise, I'd have write something the length of the "War and Peace". So, if you have any questions about Russia that you were afraid to ask, please, be my guest.
Why do the Russian people appear to like being oppressed? And I mean that in all seriousness. Why have the Russians refused to stand up and fight for freedom?
I've got this book from the '60's about the USSR and Russian history that's just a compilation of original sources. Lots of the ones about Russia before the USSR just focus on how miserable and resigned the Russian character is. They go into detail about how no soldiers can die like Russian soldiers, because their whole life they've just been waiting to die. They don't call for their wives or mothers, they just stoically accept death. It seems that attitude has stuck around.
