Married to one, yes they are. I remember taking my wife to an American grocery store for the first time after she immigrated here. She couldn't believe what she saw; American women in public wearing sweatpants, no makeup and their hair pulled back into ponytails. She told all her friends back home about it and they laughed, thinking she was pulling their legs.
I’ll bet your wife’s Russian friends also thought she was pulling their legs when she described the cornucopia of fresh vegetables, lean meats, and stocked shelves in that grocery store.