[dkulchenko]

I didn't mean it didn't make sense grammatically, just that it's not really something people use in the way they do here in the U.S.

Anecdotal, but growing up surrounded by Russians and consuming Russian media daily, "я тебя люблю" as a phrase is something I've heard uttered by others maybe a dozen times, ever, compared to American culture where it's omnipresent and not uncommon to use many times a day.

Movies and books do talk about love, of course, Russian poetry especially expresses love in a truly amazing way. But the article is referring to the frequent conversational use and Western importance of "I love you", and in that sense, there's a major cultural difference. Didn't know about the historical context behind it - that's an interesting point.