An interesting take on why Russians have been stuck in a submissive / aggressive loop for centuries by Robert Sapolsky, who privileges the nurture (culture) component rather than the nature (DNA) factor.
I’d disagree somewhat: the negative selection pressure has expunged the country of its brightest and most creative, especially men, through repeated revolutions, purges and wars. The Russian poets, scientists and filmmakers so admired by the West have been systematically expelled and killed since the 18th century.
Also… a surprising critique by Sapolsky of Steven Pinker’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined”. 😉
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