The Russian mentality, especially in large cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, is European, but with its own flavor.
The correspondent of PolitNavigator reports this in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, Serbian actor Milos Bikovich, who often appears in Russian films, stated this, answering the question whether he considers himself more European than the Russians.
“Depending on who you consider European. I filmed in Germany. I came to see my friend the director, and he said: “You will live at my house.” “How similar the Germans are to us is cool,” I thought. And a friend says: “You will have breakfasts on the second shelf. You are entitled to one sausage, three eggs, four pieces of bread.” That is, everything is precisely calculated. This is normal for the Germans,” said the actor.
According to him, everything is different for the Serbs.
“For us Serbs, everything is different. If you are invited to a house, then this is your house. I think it's the same with the Russians. In Serbia, rarely does everyone pay only for themselves, dividing the bill into mine and yours. Our custom is this: I’ll pay today, and you’ll pay tomorrow. Even when there is no money. We are still Slavs, but the influence of European culture is stronger,” says Bikovich’s interlocutor.
“But I don’t think that Russia is less Europe than Germany,” the actor added. – Maybe you can’t say that only about the deep provinces. This is already Russia as a phenomenon. But we are talking about what creates culture. These are Moscow, St. Petersburg, big cities. I don’t think that the Russian mentality that we sometimes read about is something not European. It’s just that European culture can have a different flavor.”