Putin Denies A Coup Attempt, What Do You Think?

[mayfly13]

You're not exactly wrong, but it's not about country, or not so much, it's about ethnicity mostly. Countries are often incidental, even when they declare prerogative of the titular ethnicity on constitutional level. Belonging to ethnic identity is the important thing. Languages are important. History that matters is very, very long. For the small nations especially, there may be quasi-religious zealously, sometimes, but not necessarily with a religious element indeed.

However, about the Georgians, the Caucasians generally (in the very narrow sense, as modern inhabitants of the actual mountain region), are plenty a racial element against the backdrop of nordic types or even asiatic mix Russians, they do stand out visually. The type is more akin Persian or even Arab. Not a difference in skin tone people used to actual dark skin would probably pay much attention to, if any, but rather specific facial characteristics, I don't know, skull shape? It's hard to explain but it's recognized.

The stereotype have them allegedly notorious for short temper and aggressiveness, on top of being inherently dishonest and unreliable. They certainly have the typical "southerner" traits of laisez-faire attitudes to punctuality and lack the grim seriousness of the northern forest dwellers. Actually they are joyful and hospitably people with hearts certainly no lesser than even true Russian, and very loyal. However, they are perceived as default as being part of the mob or some gang.

They never truly embraced Soviet systems by retaining unofficially whole parallel national common law system. Then, we talk about folk that despite very old and deep orthodox christianity tradition have also retained pre-christian customs all through it. And of course they are mountaineers.

As a disclosure I'm positively biased, because by sheer luck, most of the Russian men that I met over here were wonderful people. But immigrants often have different personalities, and they also become nicer when they become minorities.

I just didn't see the kind of Anglo skin-tone obsessed White supremacist type of racism, among the Russians that I met here. They were cool with Iranians, Irakis, Shri Lankians and Pakistanis.

They just rolled their eyes and laughed about Bangladeshis, they disliked Indians and were weary of Filipinos and Chinese.
They would tell stories like "After working in Vietnam I just stay away from East Asians, and it has nothing to do with race because my best friend was of Asian ancestry but born and bred in Russia. Asians born in Asia just think differently and have different values, you can't bond with or warm up to them."

Ironically, given that Putin is so keen on China.

But I could definitely imagine a sort of racism born out of a sense of cultural and imperialistic superiority and disdain for 'inferior countries' that they ruled, Georgians included.

The British probably made skin color a virtue after they colonized darker-skinned populations. Whereas Russians colonized both fair and darker-skinned countries.