cliffordheathI think a people are formed by their physical environment. In the case of Russia, that is a special kind of brutal. Australia and the USA both have cultures shaped by different kinds of challenges...
The Australian ethos is built on the notion of survival. The American, on conquest...
Ask either one "how's business" and an American will say "it's going to go gangbusters, we're killing the competition". An Australian will say "well, we're still here, aren't we?". And that reflects the challenges of the founders...
The Russian will say "we got screwed again, of course, but we made the buggers suffer deeply for it"