>> >>
><snip>
>
>> >I remember from history lessons in primary school how the
>> >Russians dealt with invasions on their territory by scorched
>> >earth tactics. I did not, at the time, realize what this
>> >must have meant for the populations of those territories.
>>
>> That's just the way Russia's always been. Extreme brutality seems to
>> be a national character trait. If you're going to pick a fight with
>> Russia, you can't afford to lose or there'll be *hell* to pay. >
>There is no such thing as "a national character trait".
Stuff and nonsense, Bill. Everyone with any sense knows there's some substance to national stereotypes. I'll grant you there are always exceptions, but as a rule, you'll find the Irish are drunks, Armenians are dishonest, Australians are ignorant and rude, Germans are hard-working but ill-tempered, the French are haughty and conceited, the English are kind-hearted and generous, Africans are savages, Canadians are desperately dull, the Swiss are punctual and meticulous; the Chinese are beastly towards animals. It's only the blinkered hoards of woke Lefties that deny these differences and constantly insist that everyone's the same. All the same! What a preposterous notion! So I'll stick by my analysis of the Russians - and you would agree if you'd ever read anything by the likes of Chekhov, Solzhenitsyn , Turgenev or Dostoyevski - which clearly you haven't. Do yourself a favour and pick up a book some time and you just might learn something of the world.