I heard a joke from a Russian friend years ago. It goes like this-
A farmer was standing by a fence along his property. Suddenly God appeared before him. God said “Yuri, you have been a good man during your life. As a reward, I’m going to grant you one wish. But you must know that I will grant the same wish to your neighbor.” The farmer thought about it for a moment and said “kill my cow.”
Know anybody like this?
Lamentations on Chemistry 
I learned a slightly different version of this Russian story.
It was a genie in a lamp, unearthed by the Russian peasant farmer. He promised to grant him any wish with the understanding that he would grant twice the wish to the farmer’s neighbor.
So the farmer said, “I want you to put out one of my eyes.”
This je ne sais quoi is imbedded in the Russian character.
Sad, but true.