"Them Russians sure build ugly airplanes! "
Yes, but they're very practical and take LOTS of abuse.
What is interesting is that in the records we know of Tupolev Tu-154 accidents, just about all of them are caused by either pilot error or some external cause not related to a defect on the plane. I do know several Tu-154's crashed due to pilots not understanding the deep stall condition that afflicts T-tailed jet airliners and letting the plane fly too far below stalling speed. The Tu-154 has actually been a pretty good plane considering the rather extreme conditions the plane has to fly in under Aeroflot service.
The Antonov An-74--if fitted with a modern Western high-bypass engine such as the higher-rated version of the General Electric CF34--would be an excellent plane for operating out of rough airstrips. If the Antonov Design Bureau were to try to get US FAA or European JAA certification of the An-74 with the CF34 engine, that plane will sell like hotcakes, especially in parts of the world where a decent airport are luxuries.