[sologoub]

Russian culture and the current situation in the country are quite different. Honesty and sincerity are highly valued traits, to the point that Westerners are still labeled as disingenuous for smiling too much - Russians view this as fake and therefore less trustworthy. This of course is changing, as the younger generations are more exposed to western behaviors.

The real problem is the economic situation and people that focus on personal enrichment by any means instead of building something sustainable. Basically, in an environment where you cannot be sure of what next year is going to look like, it's brutally rational to try and extract as much value now, as opposed to invest for the future.

As the result, you get everything from poor infrastructure investment and lack of true small business growth, all the way to bribing because the official taking the bribe isn't sure he or she will have this access tomorrow, so better to enrich now and as fast as possible.

This is not something that is endemic to Russian culture, but rather to the survival situation. Unfortunately, Russia seems to teeter in this state for centuries at a time.