Russians are the descendants of the Mongolian horde. They are Asiatic, not European.
Well, genetically that's not true; they're mostly eastern slavic. But their thinking was most definitely molded to the Mongol traditions, and they do still think much as they did 500 years ago. The liberal European culture we evolved in the West never penetrated past Poland, despite the effort of Czar Peter.
https://ricochet.com/1214468/finnish-intelligence-officer-explains-the-russian-mindset/
Russians are the descendants of the Mongolian horde. They are Asiatic, not European.
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While there is little doubt of Asiatic influences here and there, The “Rus” are believed to be more closely related to peoples from Scandinavia.