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* Both played straight and subverted in ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}''. As in real life, it's the Soviet Union and there are plenty of Russians around who are dying of [[CruelAndUnusualDeath radiation poisoning]], but the Chernobyl power station is actually in the Ukraine and there are people involved from all over Eastern Europe.

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* Both played straight and subverted in ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}''. As in real life, it's the Soviet Union and there are plenty of Russians around who are dying of [[CruelAndUnusualDeath radiation poisoning]], but the Chernobyl power station is actually in the Ukraine and there are people involved from all over Eastern Europe.
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* None of the ComicBook/XMen have it easy, but ComicBook/{{Colossus}} seems to get the shaft even more often than most. He lost multiple family members (one of which returned later as a demonic child that screwed over him multiple times in order to show him she was a "monster" now), lost multiple [[Characters/{{MarvelComicsKittyPryde}} girlfriends]] (sometimes getting them back, only for them to break up with him) and also died and was [[ComicBook/{{AstonishingXMen}} brought back]] as a pawn for multiple alien overlords... It's a wonder the "Gentle" part stays with this GentleGiant at all.

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* None ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': Iosif Nichayko, head of the ComicBook/XMen have Russian counterpart to the ComicBook/{{BPRD}}, the Special Science Services, has it easy, but ComicBook/{{Colossus}} seems bad even for a cast facing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Iosif was a Soviet soldier in 1946 who hoped to get married someday and have kids and grandkids. Instead he died after the shaft even more often than most. He lost multiple family members (one of which returned later submarine he was on sank and he got resurrected as a demonic child that screwed over mindless zombie, guarding a magical suit of armor until his corpse is dragged by to headquarters. He regains his intelligence, imprisons his boss (a malevolent demon) in a bell jar, and takes of the SSS. Then the apocalypse happens, and he has to protect Russia from giant monsters while he former boss taunts him multiple times in order to show him she was a "monster" now), lost multiple [[Characters/{{MarvelComicsKittyPryde}} girlfriends]] (sometimes getting them back, only for them to break up with him) and also died and was [[ComicBook/{{AstonishingXMen}} brought back]] as a pawn for multiple alien overlords... It's a wonder threats of horrible suffering if she escapes. All the "Gentle" part stays with this GentleGiant at all.poor guy wants is to finally die but he knows he can't until Russia is safe.



* Iosif Nichayko, head of the Russian counterpart to the ComicBook/{{BPRD}}, the Special Science Services, has it bad even for a cast facing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Iosif was a Soviet soldier in 1946 who hoped to get married someday and have kids and grandkids. Instead he died after the submarine he was on sank and he got resurrected as a mindless zombie, guarding a magical suit of armor until his corpse is dragged by to headquarters. He regains his intelligence, imprisons his boss (a malevolent demon) in a bell jar, and takes of the SSS. Then the apocalypse happens, and he has to protect Russia from giant monsters while he former boss taunts him with threats of horrible suffering if she escapes. All the poor guy wants is to finally die but he knows he can't until Russia is safe.

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* Iosif Nichayko, head ''ComicBook/XMen'': None of the Russian counterpart to the ComicBook/{{BPRD}}, the Special Science Services, has X-Men have it bad even for a cast facing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Iosif was a Soviet soldier in 1946 who hoped easy, but ComicBook/{{Colossus}} seems to get married someday the shaft even more often than most. He lost multiple family members (one of which returned later as a demonic child that screwed over him multiple times in order to show him she was a "monster" now), lost multiple [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde girlfriends]] (sometimes getting them back, only for them to break up with him) and have kids and grandkids. Instead he also died after the submarine he and was on sank and he got resurrected [[ComicBook/AstonishingXMen brought back]] as a mindless zombie, guarding pawn for multiple alien overlords... It's a magical suit of armor until his corpse is dragged by to headquarters. He regains his intelligence, imprisons his boss (a malevolent demon) in a bell jar, and takes of wonder the SSS. Then the apocalypse happens, and he has to protect Russia from giant monsters while he former boss taunts him "Gentle" part stays with threats of horrible suffering if she escapes. All the poor guy wants is to finally die but he knows he can't until Russia is safe.this GentleGiant at all.
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* Fanfic/TarkinsFist: A minor running gag throughout the story is the sheer number of leaders Russia goes through as each one is hunted down and murdered by the Empire.
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** This trope is the entirety of ''Literature/TheDeathOfRussia''.

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** This trope is the entirety of ''Literature/TheDeathOfRussia''. [[spoiler:By the end, most of Western Russia is a nuclear wasteland and Russian identity has effectively been destroyed]].
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** This trope is the entirety of ''Literature/TheDeathOfRussia''.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': Thanks in part to most of the first arc's events taking place in Russia, Russians suffer a lot. From the {{disposable vagrant}}s whom had already lost their homes amid Moscow's destruction [[spoiler:subsequently suffering {{a fate worse than death}} by [[TheAssimilator the Many]]]], to 150,000 more Russian people being lost [[spoiler:to the same fate in Berezniki]]. Additionally, during the Monarch-Russian Ground Forces joint search and rescue mission, Monarch's international/mostly American G-Team suffer no casualties, but the Russian team aren't quite so lucky.
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** In ''WebOriginal/ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire'', Russia and the rest of the former Soviet states have to endure ten years of rule under the eponymous ultranationalist politician. Russia's economy is obliterated, political opponents are disappeared, and Chechnya is destroyed in a wave of ethnic cleansing.

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** In ''WebOriginal/ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire'', ''Literature/ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire'', Russia and the rest of the former Soviet states have to endure ten years of rule under the eponymous ultranationalist politician. Russia's economy is obliterated, political opponents are disappeared, and Chechnya is destroyed in a wave of ethnic cleansing.
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* In season 3 of ''Anime/{{Beyblade}}'', Yuriy takes a real beating, worse than any other character besides Kai.

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* In season 3 of ''Anime/{{Beyblade}}'', ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'', Yuriy takes a real beating, worse than any other character besides Kai.

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''"In America, you destroy life. [[RussianReversal In Soviet Russia, life destroys you]]."''

In a given work of fiction featuring one or two token Russians, the Russians tend to get the short end of the stick. Whenever there's suffering to be had, they take the larger ration. Quite often, this isn't played [[ButtMonkey too seriously]], but sometimes [[TheWoobie it can be]]. They also have a tendency to be TheEeyore or irritable, especially in combination with these other elements.

The reasons for this trope may originate from what most Westerners assume actual Russians have been through, having lived under multiple "[[EvilEmpire Evil Empires]]"[[note]] ''though there's a notable BrokenBase among scholars in the East and West over what constitutes "evil", in this case''[[/note]], including the Mongol Invasion, UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia (which was founded by [[UsefulNotes/IvanTheTerrible a guy whose epithet was "The Terrible"]] for a reason), the [=USSR=], the Nazi invasion which killed 25 ''million'' Soviet citizens, [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia a difficult post-Soviet transition]], [[UsefulNotes/TheRussianCross and a severe demographic crisis]]. [[SarcasmMode Thus, any fictional suffering they might endure can't compare to what they've gotten in real life]]. In short, they're AcceptableTargets through being "overqualified".

Another reason for the trope's popularity in the West is some Russian classical works, particularly Creator/FyodorDostoevsky, who remains the best-known Russian author among Westerners, and who was really fond of religious traditionalism and the Orthodoxy-inspired idea of "[[MiseryBuildsCharacter redemption through suffering and penance]]". Other well-known writers don't exactly break the stereotype either, with works from many late-[[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Tsarist]] writers (such as Creator/NikolaiGogol or Creator/AntonChekhov) frequently including some mixture of both {{Tragedy}} and BlackComedy. However, since the collapse of the Soviet state in the 1990s ([[CapitalismIsBad although the first years after the collapse of the USSR]] [[DemocracyIsBad were not happy either]]), and especially with the emergence of globalization and the digital age the trend seems to be drastically changing: today's Russians have little interest in enduring hardships, preferring to enjoy the luxuries of the global world. Therefore the trope is on its way to becoming a [[DiscreditedTrope discredited one]].

It doesn't matter if the given Russian is a hero or a villain -- if the plot causes them to suffer more often than not, they are an example. Russian characteristics, if not an explicit Russian background, can also merit inclusion in this trope.

However, this can end up a life's equivalent of TheSpartanWay, meaning MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong.

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''"In America, TV Tropes, [[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife you destroy life. ruin life]]. [[RussianReversal In Soviet Russia, life destroys ruins you]]."''

In a given work of fiction featuring one or two token Russians, more Russian characters, the Russians tend to get the short end of the stick. Whenever there's suffering to be had, they take the larger ration. If the cast starts getting killed off, the Russian will be first, or the most painful death. If there's a natural disaster or alien invasion, Russia will be hit hard. Quite often, this isn't played [[ButtMonkey too seriously]], but sometimes [[TheWoobie it can be]]. They also have a tendency to be TheEeyore or irritable, especially in combination with these other elements.

The reasons for this trope may originate from what most Westerners assume actual Russians have been through, having lived under multiple "[[EvilEmpire Evil Empires]]"[[note]] ''though there's a notable BrokenBase among scholars in the East and West over what constitutes "evil", in this case''[[/note]], including the Mongol Invasion, UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia (which was founded by [[UsefulNotes/IvanTheTerrible a guy whose epithet was "The Terrible"]] for a reason), the [=USSR=], the Nazi invasion which killed 25 ''million'' Soviet citizens, [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia a difficult post-Soviet transition]], [[UsefulNotes/TheRussianCross and a severe demographic crisis]]. Not to mention [[GrimUpNorth being really goddamn cold]]. [[SarcasmMode Thus, any fictional suffering they might endure can't compare to what they've gotten in real life]]. In short, they're AcceptableTargets through being "overqualified".

Another reason for the trope's popularity in the West is the focus on suffering in some Russian classical works, particularly Creator/FyodorDostoevsky, who remains the best-known Russian author among Westerners, and who was really fond of religious traditionalism and the Orthodoxy-inspired idea of "[[MiseryBuildsCharacter redemption through suffering and penance]]". Other well-known writers don't exactly break the stereotype either, with works from many late-[[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Tsarist]] writers (such as Creator/NikolaiGogol or Creator/AntonChekhov) frequently including some mixture of both {{Tragedy}} and BlackComedy. BlackComedy.

However, since the collapse of the Soviet state in the 1990s ([[CapitalismIsBad although the first years after the collapse of the USSR]] [[DemocracyIsBad were not happy either]]), and especially with the emergence of globalization and the digital age the trend seems to be drastically changing: today's Russians have little interest in enduring hardships, preferring to enjoy the luxuries of the global world. Therefore the trope is on its way to becoming a [[DiscreditedTrope discredited one]].

one]]. However it has seen some resurgence with the recent Russo-Ukrainian war, as Russia's widely-condemned aggression and poor military performance has reinvigorated hatred, mockery and pity towards its people.

It doesn't matter if the given Russian is a hero or a villain -- if the plot causes them to suffer more often than not, they are an example. Russian characteristics, if not an explicit Russian background, can also merit inclusion in this trope.

However, this This can end up a as life's equivalent of TheSpartanWay, meaning MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong.



* In ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' there are several Russian characters. Let's just say the trope is played straight here. To clarify, there are 5 major Russian characters. Of them, only the two children survive, but they watch their father fall to his death.

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* In ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' there are several Russian characters. Let's just say the trope is played straight here. To clarify, there are 5 major Russian characters. Of them, only the two children survive, but they watch their father fall to his death.



* ''Film/ThePunisher2004'': [[{{Determinator}} The Russian]], endures quite the fight with the hero. The whole fight is essentially a [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp battle]] with the Russian winning. He DOES take a few hits, including a stab, but nothing fazes him until he is burned with boiling hot water and tackled down a flight of stairs.

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* ''Film/ThePunisher2004'': [[{{Determinator}} The Russian]], Russian]] endures quite the fight with the hero. The whole fight is essentially a [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp battle]] with the Russian winning. He DOES take a few hits, including a stab, but nothing fazes him until he is burned with boiling hot water and tackled down a flight of stairs.
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->''"We have survived countless woes. Is there any nation on the planet who had to face such trials? No. Three revolutions in one century, four world wars raging across our lands – and still we survived. We stayed afloat, when the water levels rose higher than the stock market, and the rest of the world sank. Nobody but Slavs could do it. Nobody."''

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->''"We have survived countless woes. Is there any nation on the planet who had to face such trials? No. Three revolutions in one century, four world wars raging across our lands -- and still we survived. We stayed afloat, when the water levels rose higher than the stock market, and the rest of the world sank. Nobody but Slavs could do it. Nobody."''



* Played straight with Sergei Dragunov from another fighting game film adaptation, ''Film/{{Tekken}}''. Several others are eliminated before him, but at least they manage to get out before the competition becomes a BloodSport. This unfortunately means that Sergei is the first to outright die.

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* Played straight with Sergei Dragunov from another fighting game film adaptation, ''Film/{{Tekken}}''.''Film/Tekken2010''. Several others are eliminated before him, but at least they manage to get out before the competition becomes a BloodSport. This unfortunately means that Sergei is the first to outright die.
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* None of the ComicBook/XMen have it easy, but ComicBook/{{Colossus}} seems to get the shaft even more often than most. He lost multiple family members (one of which returned later as a demonic child that screwed over him multiple times in order to show him she was a "monster" now), lost multiple girlfriends (sometimes getting them back, only for them to break up with him) and also died and was brought back as a pawn for multiple alien overlords... It's a wonder the "Gentle" part stays with this GentleGiant at all.

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* None of the ComicBook/XMen have it easy, but ComicBook/{{Colossus}} seems to get the shaft even more often than most. He lost multiple family members (one of which returned later as a demonic child that screwed over him multiple times in order to show him she was a "monster" now), lost multiple girlfriends [[Characters/{{MarvelComicsKittyPryde}} girlfriends]] (sometimes getting them back, only for them to break up with him) and also died and was [[ComicBook/{{AstonishingXMen}} brought back back]] as a pawn for multiple alien overlords... It's a wonder the "Gentle" part stays with this GentleGiant at all.
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* [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] in ''VideoGame/RenownedExplorers'': many characters have unique traits from the more generalist skillsets such as Rogue, Naturalist, or Diplomat. The Russian character, Ivan Dashkov, has one.... Athlete: Endure Hardship.

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Misuse - this is a characterization trope, not for real history



[[folder:Real Life]]
* The history of Russia in the 20th century can be described as one bloodbath after another:
** The mismanagements of UsefulNotes/NicholasII, which included a [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar failed war with Japan]] and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the latter of which saw Russia struggle to give its soldiers bullets, let alone food. Then there was the collapse of the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Tsarist government]] and of the subsequent democratic Provisional government paved way to the UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution, Red Terror, the bloody Civil War, post-war famine, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Stalinist repressions]], Iron Curtain, etc., etc. This involved not only Russia, but also UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and most other countries that used to be a part of the Russian Empire. After the collapse of the USSR at the end of 1991, all the post-Soviet states had to build democratic and capitalist institutions from scratch, which wasn't a piece of cake either, most prominently resulting in the breakup of Yugoslavia and ten years of ethnic war in the region.
** The Soviet Union had by far and away the largest amounts of casualties in World War II. 8,800,000 soldiers having died is the ''lowest'' estimate of military casualties, and 24,000,000 civilians also died.
** A much earlier example is the Mongol yoke which dated from 13th to 15th century.
** What's interesting, during the Soviet times, especially in TheSeventies and part of TheEighties, when the economic situation was ''much'' better that in TheNineties, and political oppression almost disappeared, the median life expectancy for males ''never'' exceeded 65 years, which is, in a curious coincidence, a pension age for the non-privileged professions. Some {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s believe that TheGovernment intentionally created such a situation to reduce the amount of pensions paid. Others argue that this situation occurred due to unbalanced Russian healthcare system which was developed to fight infectious diseases but was pretty much ignorant of cardiovascular diseases. Anyway the median life expectancy dropped some five years after that and finally overcame the "65 years" figure in TheNewTens.
** Re the above (1970s/80s life expectancy for males), it is worth remembering that the Soviet Union had proportionately many more workers in unsafe heavy industries that were the sort that often lead to chronic health problems. Added to this, heavy drinking was such a widespread problem that Gorbachev took major action in 1987 as part of his reforms. Realising that the USSR stood no chance of being economically successful with such a culture and attitude, he drastically increased the price and decreased the availability of vodka. This was an important factor in his subsequent national unpopularity but the measures did show immediate and significant improvements in areas of life such as traffic accidents, workplace fatalities and domestic violence.
*** Also due to Gorbachev's "anti-alcohol campaign"...some people have built elaborate (in some cases even computer-controlled!) moonshine stills, others simply took to drinking everything that had some alcohol in it (Wood stain, brake fluid, and even glue!) – usually after using some technique to separate ethanol from other ingredients with varying results. And this in turn caused a lot of accidents, poisonings and domestic violence. Also, vodka rationing was implemented. Perestroika sucked on many levels...
** Gorbachev's Perestroika, which first gave hope for a better future for the country, turned into an economic, political and ideological catastrophe that led to the collapse of the USSR. ''[[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell The collapse of the USSR is the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the century]]'' Yes, the stores were stuffed with goods, open borders and liberal freedoms, but it was given at the cost of complete destruction of the economy, the emergence of ethnic hatred between the former Soviet people, the constant political crisis and chaos in the democratic government, [[UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin an always-drunk President, who seemed to have no control over the country,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Russian_constitutional_crisis and if he showed his power, then the bombardment of the parliament building from tanks when parliament opposed him,]] this put the country on the dangerous edge of the second civil war, the army was ruled by the arbitrariness of officers who used conscripts as slaves and actively plundered everything that was not nailed down, and among the recruits [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedovshchina dedovshchina]] became the norm and went to extremes, and in some military units the soldiers even died of hunger, excessive corruption, by the deception and theft of a handful of people in one moment became super-rich - [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the oligarchs,]] and against the backdrop of a rapidly impoverished population, former Soviet dissidents actively criticized the Soviet era without seeing in it literally anything good and even went further criticizing the whole history of Russia, it was not enough and [[BoomerangBigot they publicly including on television insulted the Russian nation considering them lower creatures]] and millions of ethnic Russians in one day turned out to be foreigners in independent former Soviet republics, some of whom began to discriminate against them. And that's all not to mention the loss of superpower status, which the Russians experienced extremely painfully. [[CrapsackWorld "Lihie" the 90's]], indeed.
** And the culmination of these traumas was UsefulNotes/TheRussianCross, in which Russia's death rate has acceded its birth rate since the collapse of the Soviet Union, except for a couple of years in the early 2010s.
* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, there was a black comic song sung by Russian tankers. One of the verses was "Our legs are torn off, and our faces are on fire!"
** There's also a popular old sad Russian folk song about tanks that often serves as a freakin' ''[[VodkaDrunkenski drinking song]]''. It's about a tank commander who was killed in action, how they bury him and notify his next of kin. Here are some of the verses: "The tank was hit with armor-piercer / Now say goodbye to the Guards crew / Just four more corpses on the hillside / will add to fair morning view / So they'll extract us from the remains / They'll put our coffin on the clay / And rumbling fire from the main-guns / Escort us on our final way". Here's an English variant.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeb3ZLb-wJ4 1]]
** The drinking song version is sometimes converted into a BawdySong with exactly one changed line: "And his young bride will never know what [[BiggerIsBetterInBed size of cock]] did the guy have". Yes, that's it. A sad, funerary bawdy drinking song.
** That's not exactly it, of course... Kinda worse. The line, ''"kakoy tankista byl konets"'', is, very literally, "what was the tankman's end". So naturally it's about a manner of one's death. However, "konets" is also sometimes used for the meaning mentioned above (picture the end of the rope), in which case "what" would likely indeed mean size... Right, even Russian DoubleEntendre parallels cock with life's finale.
** One of the oldest and most well known drinking songs in Russia has the following plot: a mortally wounded cossack or soldier lies on a battlefield, and death (personified as a black raven) circles around him. In the finale, the soldier dies. Yes, they sing this when plastered instead of "Nellie Dean".
* Russian and Soviet armies have traditionally been based on {{conscription}}, whose Russian variety has been very little different from military slavery. The discipline was as harsh as the discipline, and even in the 'good old days' of the interwar period survival was not always a given. After the Second World War contempt for the new conscripts, who had not suffered through the extreme hardship and 300% turnover in combat forces during the war itself, manifested itself in the form of bullying. This grew exponentially worse as each new generation of bullied conscripts took out its frustration on the one that followed, until by the 1980s some estimates held that anywhere between two and five thousand conscripts were dying every year from hazing, bullying, accidents, maltreatment, suicides and outright murders. Many more became physically or emotionally crippled for life. Since UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and his reforms, it had gotten a lot better and there were plans to abolish conscription... until the full scale invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} and ensuing war of attrition since 2022 squashed those progresses and prospects pretty hard.
** Speaking of the aforementioned war of attrition in Ukraine, Russians employ the bloody and costly tactic of [[CannonFodder human waves]] in places such as Bakhmut.
* Some special operations units are known for their cunning or their high tech gear, but the Spetsnaz alone are infamous in Western media (with the emphasis on ''Western media'') for the brutality of their selection and training. Interestingly, actual Russian Spetsnaz units, from Internal Affairs to Army to airborne, almost never advertise their training as "brutal", instead stressing their professionalism and devotion to military honor. Their selectiveness is treated as a given, since historically every elite in the Soviet union was supposed to form in a centralized fashion (i.e. by multi-level selection) -- from theater and science to military, sports and even art.
* And then there were ''Construction Batallions'' a.k.a. ''Stroibat''. You see, when you draft everyone and their uncle into the army the quality of recruits would be... variable. So you get some people fit for special forces and then you get some people who are worse than useless with anything resembling a weapon. But you can't just send them home because next draft will be full of people '''pretending''' to be useless and so the ''Stroibat'' was born. Intended to be military construction workers, they were useless in any capacity (including construction) and famous for that, as well as chock full of undesirables, misfits and outright criminals. Basically the only danger they presented was to themselves and local population. Add to that the fact that officers were often transferred to ''Stroibats'' as a form of punishment and it's no wonder the morale was non-existent.
** Which leads into a classic Russian military joke, about ''Stroibat'' being even worse than Special Forces to face in combat, ''as those animals aren't even issued weapons''.
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** The mismanagements of [[UsefulNotes/TsarTsarAutocrats Tsar Nicholas II]], which included a [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar failed war with Japan]], and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, which saw Russia struggle to give its soldiers bullets, let alone food. Then there was the collapse of the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Tsarist government]] and of the subsequent democratic Provisional government paved way to the UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution, Red Terror, the bloody Civil War, post-war famine, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Stalinist repressions]], Iron Curtain, etc., etc. This involved not only Russia, but also UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and most other countries that used to be a part of Russian Empire. After the collapse of USSR, all the post-Soviet states had to build democratic and capitalist institutions from scratch, which wasn't a piece of cake either.

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** The mismanagements of [[UsefulNotes/TsarTsarAutocrats Tsar Nicholas II]], UsefulNotes/NicholasII, which included a [[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar failed war with Japan]], Japan]] and UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, the latter of which saw Russia struggle to give its soldiers bullets, let alone food. Then there was the collapse of the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Tsarist government]] and of the subsequent democratic Provisional government paved way to the UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution, Red Terror, the bloody Civil War, post-war famine, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Stalinist repressions]], Iron Curtain, etc., etc. This involved not only Russia, but also UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and most other countries that used to be a part of the Russian Empire. After the collapse of USSR, the USSR at the end of 1991, all the post-Soviet states had to build democratic and capitalist institutions from scratch, which wasn't a piece of cake either.either, most prominently resulting in the breakup of Yugoslavia and ten years of ethnic war in the region.

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* In ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'', James Bond is of the opinion that the Russian national character is basically masochistic: "They love the knout. That's why they were so happy under Stalin."

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* In ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'', James Bond Literature/JamesBond is of the opinion that the Russian national character is basically masochistic: "They love the knout. That's why they were so happy under Stalin."



* Popular Russian song Den Pobedy (''Victory Day''), which is always played May 9, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany. It's at best bittersweet song, the happiness of victory mixed with the sorrow of everything lost in the war.

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* Popular Russian Soviet song Den Pobedy "Den Pobedy" (''Victory Day''), which is always played May 9, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany. UsefulNotes/NaziGermany. It's at best bittersweet song, the happiness of victory mixed with the sorrow of everything lost in the war.war.
* Music/MolchatDoma is a Russian-speaking UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}ian band, and their music is ''bleak''. Not for nothing are they often referred to as [[invoked]][[MemeticMutation "doomer music"]]. Of particular note, the song "Toska" takes its name from the Russian meaning/perception of misery as once exemplified by Creator/AntonChekhov in a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_(short_story) short story]].
* SurvivalMantra: Another, more positive interpretation of the above lyrics.
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The reasons for this trope may originate from what most Westerners assume actual Russians have been through, having lived under multiple "[[EvilEmpire Evil Empires]]"[[note]] ''though there's a notable BrokenBase among scholars in the East and West over what constitutes "evil", in this case''[[/note]], including the Mongol Invasion, Tsarist Russia, the [=USSR=], the Nazi invasion which killed 25 ''million'' Soviet citizens, [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia a difficult post-Soviet transition]], [[UsefulNotes/TheRussianCross and a severe demographic crisis]]. [[SarcasmMode Thus, any fictional suffering they might endure can't compare to what they've gotten in real life]]. In short, they're AcceptableTargets through being "overqualified".

to:

The reasons for this trope may originate from what most Westerners assume actual Russians have been through, having lived under multiple "[[EvilEmpire Evil Empires]]"[[note]] ''though there's a notable BrokenBase among scholars in the East and West over what constitutes "evil", in this case''[[/note]], including the Mongol Invasion, Tsarist Russia, UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia (which was founded by [[UsefulNotes/IvanTheTerrible a guy whose epithet was "The Terrible"]] for a reason), the [=USSR=], the Nazi invasion which killed 25 ''million'' Soviet citizens, [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia a difficult post-Soviet transition]], [[UsefulNotes/TheRussianCross and a severe demographic crisis]]. [[SarcasmMode Thus, any fictional suffering they might endure can't compare to what they've gotten in real life]]. In short, they're AcceptableTargets through being "overqualified".
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* {{subverted|Trope}} in ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse''. On the one hand, the Soviet Union has been mostly overrun by BETA, currently only holding onto the Kamchatka Peninsula, with a refugee population and Soviet GovernmentInExile resettled in Alaska. On the other hand, the people resettled in the United States are mostly ethnic Russians whereas it's mostly non-Russian Soviets fighting in Kamchatka, e.g. Georgians and Kazakhs, and they ''hate'' the fact that the conquered peoples of the USSR got off even worse than the Russians did.

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* {{subverted|Trope}} in ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse''.''Literature/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse''. On the one hand, the Soviet Union has been mostly overrun by BETA, currently only holding onto the Kamchatka Peninsula, with a refugee population and Soviet GovernmentInExile resettled in Alaska. On the other hand, the people resettled in the United States are mostly ethnic Russians whereas it's mostly non-Russian Soviets fighting in Kamchatka, e.g. Georgians and Kazakhs, and they ''hate'' the fact that the conquered peoples of the USSR got off even worse than the Russians did.
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** Speaking of the aforementioned war of attrition in Ukraine, Russians employ the bloody and costly tactic of [[CanonFodder human waves]] in places such as Bakhmut.

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** Speaking of the aforementioned war of attrition in Ukraine, Russians employ the bloody and costly tactic of [[CanonFodder [[CannonFodder human waves]] in places such as Bakhmut.

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