Религия и нравы русских

"A foreigner in Russia is a separate topic, often painful for the national consciousness. For any criticism of the native foundations, the heart bristles and hurries to say across. Meanwhile, sometimes only through other people's eyes you can see yourself in your present form ... Joseph de Maistre (1753 - 1821) philosopher and writer who lived in Russia for fourteen years. The author was a fairly well-known person, Victor Hugo himself mentions him in the novel Les Misérables. This book includes anecdotes collected by de Maistre during his stay in Russia. Note that the word "anecdote" is not used in the modern sense (a short story with an unexpected funny ending), but in the sense of a funny real fact that happened to a certain person. Translator Shurbelev A.P.