“Even if Russia expands its possessions at the expense of neighboring colonies, unlike other colonial powers, it gives more to its new acquisitions than it takes from them. This is not because it is driven by some kind of philanthropy or anything like that. The initial aspirations of all empires are not much different, but wherever the Russian man appears, everything miraculously takes a completely different direction.

Developed in the Eastern Slavs since pre-Christian times moral norms do not allow the Russian man to rape someone else’s conscience. More often out of the ineradicable feeling of compassion rooted in him he is ready to give his last shirt than to take it away from someone. Therefore, no matter how victorious Russian weapons are, in purely mercantile terms, Russia always remains a loser.

Those defeated by it or taken under its protection usually win in the end, keeping intact their way of life and spiritual institutions, despite their apparent insufficiency for progress, as one can easily be convinced after getting to know them more or less thoroughly, increasing their material wealth and significantly advancing on the path of civilization.

Estland (the northern part of Estonia – note) and the Caucasus are illustrative examples of this, for example, they have been despised and raped by their neighbors for centuries, but have taken an honorable place among the nations and achieved incomparable prosperity under the patronage of Russia, while the situation of the Russian people, i.e. the native population of Russia, has not improved at all as a result of the acquisition of Estland and the Caucasus. The latter seems to us a paradox, but this is the reality, the root causes of which lie, undoubtedly, in the peculiarities of Russian morality”.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, speaking at a crowded rally against Britain’s entry into the Crimean War famous Scottish scientist-geologist, who named the periods of the early Paleozoic era: Silurian, Devonian and Permian (after the names of the places where he conducted his research). Year 1853.