I've honestly had enough of the endless "Russia = dry toilets and poverty" garbage.
Look, I've never been (and I mean I've never been, if you know what I mean), but I've dug into the numbers, watched the videos, read the reports, and the Western script doesn't match reality.
Russia has 16 proper cities with over 1 million people each. Together they house over 35 million people that's a quarter of the country living in modern urban centers like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg. Metros, skyscrapers, high-speed rail, clean streets, cafes packed on weekends.
Not some frozen wasteland meme.
GDP per capita PPP is around $ 52k. EU average is higher on paper $68k, sure. But Russia's cost of living is roughly half which means your salary stretches further on housing, food, energy, transport.
Real purchasing power hits different when rent isn't eating 50% of your paycheck.
Urban sanitation sits at 92% .
Life expectancy climbing back toward 73 years.
Rural areas have gaps? Yeah like in plenty of EU countries too. But the heart of Russia is building, resilient, and proud despite the sanctions.
The "backward Russia" crowd usually repeats scripts without ever stepping foot outside an airport. I've seen enough genuine footage and data to know that this nation like any other is tough, beautiful, and advancing on its own terms.
If you want drop your real experience below epecialy if you visited Russia lately.
Let's talk facts, not cartoons.
I have lived in Russia and former CIS for 20 years, travelling to Russia for longer than that. 7 years straight in Russia. Moscow is Moscow and no Russian considers it representative of Russia. You have two other major cities then a handful of cities with 1 million plus. All quite nice. Then you have 110-115 million living in squalor worse than most of the third world. You will find it hard to find an honest Russian who disagrees with me.