I have been there many times. Many times. They are an incredible people. You cannot admire a wall hanging in their home, or they take it down and insist you have it. They will prepare so much food that you would get sick trying to eat it all. They would give you the shoes from their own feet if you looked like you needed them.
Do not confuse the leadership with the people of Russia. You simply have no idea. They give new meaning to the word hospitality. While there adopting a child, this child told people at the park that she was being adopted and was with her new parent from America. That night tons of food showed up at the apartment where they were staying - many babushka knocked on the door holding steaming dishes of food they had prepared. In a poor region too.
I did not say all Russians were paranoid and hostile. I said the “gas station” is run by individuals who were paranoid and hostile.
The faction that has both these characteristics normally gravitates to the leadership positions within the region generally known as “Russia”. In Sicily, the general population of people is also extremely generous with what they have, but the locality is controlled by the members of the Mafioso, and the reputation far precedes them. As Sicily is controlled by gangsters, the current Russian Federation is also controlled by gangsters.
Much like Chicago, home base for the Current Occupant now squatting in the White Hut.