What We Need to Know About Russia

In relations between sovereign nations, nothing is more important than understanding the culture of the countries with which one is dealing. Without this understanding, there can be tragic consequences. If the Japanese in 1941 had understood the American psyche, they would never have attacked Pearl Harbor in the vain hope that once a major part of its Pacific Fleet had been destroyed, the United States would sue for peace. Similarly, the Germans would not have attacked the Soviet Union if they had known how the Russians traditionally reacted to invasions by foreign “infidels.”
I have a feeling that Western politicians have made little effort to understand the mentality of the Russian people and leaders. And yet we have a great deal of evidence from public opinion polls and Russian politicians to convey what it is they want and what it is they fear.
For one, Russians crave the status of being a velikaya derzhava (great power). They feel that they are entitled to this status since Russia has the largest landmass in the world, one that covers most of Eurasia and stretches from the Baltic to the Pacific. The other component of Russia’s great power status is the country’s grand accomplishments, such as breaking the back of the German army in World War II and sending the first man into space.