ليُفهم بوضوح أن الروسي شخصٌ ممتع ما دام لم يُدخل قميصه في بنطاله. وهو كشرقيّ ساحر. لكنه حين يُصرّ على أن يُعامل بوصفه أقصى الشعوب الشرقية نحو الغرب، لا أقصى الشعوب الغربية نحو الشرق، يصبح حالة عِرقية شاذّة يصعب التعامل معها إلى أقصى حد.

“Let it be clearly understood that the Russian is a delightful person till he tucks in his shirt. As an Oriental he is charming. It is only when he insists on being treated as the most easterly of western peoples instead of the most westerly of easterns that he becomes a racial anomaly extremely difficult to handle.”Rudyard Kipling — Complete Short Stories of Rudyard Kipling: 25 Illustrated Collections: 440+ Tales in One Volume – Ultimate Short Story Collection: Plain Tales from the Hills, Soldier’s Three, The Jungle Book, The Phantom ‘Rickshaw and Other Ghost Stories, Land and Sea Tales… (2015)