[azangru]

> Russian has a lot of ways you can write "compactly" with fewer words than english and have a much more precise meaning of the sentence. (I always likened russian to type-safe haskell and english to dynamic python)

Funny; my experience has been completely the opposite. I've always envied the English language for how compactly and precisely it can express meaning compared to Russian, both because of an immensely rich vocabulary, and because of the very flexible grammar.

I suspect this difference in perception may be due to comparing original texts, especially ones produced by excellent writers or ones that have been polished by generations that use them, to translations, which are almost invariably stylistically inferior to the original: less creative, less playful, less punchy, less succinct. So, if you translate a good Russian writer who is a master of his craft into English, you may feel the inadequacy of the language. Likewise, whenever I try to read translations of English prose into Russian, it reads clumsy and depressingly weak.

[pastage]

Translating is an interpretation of the original text. A translated book can be better than the original. But you often need mastery of the language you translate to.

[crazygringo]

> A translated book can be better than the original.

Can you give some examples?

> But you often need mastery of the language you translate to.

Professional written translation is virtually always done into your native language, not into a language you've learned later. So that mastery should be taken for granted; it's a prerequisite.