[mairdie]

>>But I think the point is that certain people “inexplicably” have studied Russian.

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.

[generally]

Found this:

https://althistory.fandom.com/wiki/File:Alaskan_Stop_Sign_(Russian_America).svg

most images I was able to find had стоп or стой

But I did find one that was close to останавливаться here:

[AZLiberty]

My favorite Russian word was the imperative form of stop, останавливаться. I always wondered if that appeared on a stop sign.

According to Wikipedia, every country in Europe -- except Turkey -- uses a stop sign that says "STOP". In Turkey, it's "DUR".