Essentialist arguments about the 'soul' of a people are generally tissue thin and fall apart on examination. That said, history is real. It has real effects on

Essentialist arguments about the 'soul' of a people are generally tissue thin and fall apart on examination. That said, history is real. It has real effects on people, both through what stories they tell about themselves as a people and through the social superstructure that builds up over time. And boy does Russia have a bleak history. What you call a 'Russian soul' is more like the internalized cultural wear-and-tear of a rough few hundred years. The good news is that it can be changed with long term concerted effort.