People ask me if I feel terrible about Putin or want to live away from Russia. No

@uncleshawn No I wouldn’t say so. We have positive relations with most neighbours currently. Sometimes we are asked for support or help to them. Certainly we don’t feel threatened and I haven’t experienced any difficulties.

@Lapochka This is what I mean....short piece of an article....

"In Western countries and in Russia, the essence of trust and the role it plays in business are completely differently understood. Managers in the West initially trust everyone, because trust is understood as a prerequisite for the emergence of relationships. This is something that helps to establish contact. Leaders in Russia, as a rule, trust only a narrow circle of their college acquaintances and relatives, because for them trust is the ultimate goal of all relationships. Russians start from the highest level of distrust and in the course of communication they constantly test each other for strength, cultivating trust like a flower. Paranoia is the king's disease. Most of all, the leaders of organizations suffers from it. Among Russian leaders, paranoia occurs too often - it is very difficult for them to establish trusting relationships with all employees."

I have read this kind of thing before. You know, different cultures have different ethos about how they view relationships and how they govern and such. And every country wants to, to some extent, have a continual sense among the population that they are in danger -- so the govt. can maintain and continually increase its power. So, I am wondering: Does the Russian govt take advantage of this non-trust ethos and therefore able to stir more paranoia in its population than the typical country? Just curious.

Maybe what you mean in your post above is that as people are getting along well in life financially and such they don't pay much attention to what other countries think or don't think -- they just live their lives.

@uncleshawn I think it comes down to this - it’s easier to trust people who share a culture, ethics, maybe religion, certainly a past with you than say someone who’s way of thinking is different and therefore harder to find common ground with.

Certain western countries point accusations at us of crimes they themselves have committed but just give different label to. Everyone is doing what’s in their own best interests.

@Lapochka I think it's normal to be afraid of people who eat borscht. ....kidding.

@uncleshawn Just melt cheese on it and it will sell in Texas
...kidding