;-)
Me, too.
I can’t say my Russian is very good, but when Trump and Putin met, I could tell that Putin said “thank you” when someone handed him something. After that, about 1 word in 10.
But I think the point is that certain people “inexplicably” have studied Russian. Apparently for no “good” reason. Or both parents have studied it.
Not damning all by itself. But one more bit of evidence to add to the giant mountain that is piling up.
Especially good point if they then went on to join governmental service instead of science. Or just loved Tolstoy.
My favorite Russian word was the imperative form of stop, останавливаться. I always wondered if that appeared on a stop sign.