I was always impressed by how easy it is to hurt the feelings of many Russians when it comes to such dangerous topics as religion, politics, history¹, cars²… I was growing up in the 90-s and I remember this uneasiness if you happened to have something Russian, something made in Russia. It was a mauvais ton. You were supposed to have German cars, Swiss watch, Italian clothes...
This uneasiness about being Russian, which is sometimes compensated by aggressive Russianness, is telling us something about the identity problem. What is it to be Russian? Is Russia part of Europe? It all comes down to this eternal question, that Russia is so obsessed with: does it have a “special way” in this world or not. This debate has been ongoing throughout the country's conscious existence – since the time of the legendary Rurik, who was invited to rule this land because the locals were supposedly incapable of doing so themselves — and then in a more articulated form since the days of Peter the Great, who decided to modernise the country and adopt European statecraft. Since then, the so-called Westernizers and Slavophiles have been literally crossing swords over the question: should Russia imitate Europe, or does it have a different set of values and a special mission in world history? It feels like this debate has always been somehow fatal.