@Tacitus
We are Russians. As a German, you should have some approximate understanding of what this means. I will share some aphorisms with you, that we use to define who we are in relation to others.
1) "What is good for a Russian, is death to a German"
2) "Russians are slow to saddle up, but quick to ride"
3) "Ilya Muromets laid on the stove for 33 years, 3 months, and 3 days and then rose and defeated all of Russia's enemies"
In brief, Russians have an infinitely greater capacity for suffering than Germans. Russians always make mistakes early on, and struggle to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge before them, before they are able to implement necessary corrective measures. We are a lazy people, and it's hard to shake us from our slumber - but when we wake up, we take up titanic tasks.
That is, for us ego-driven Russians it's not really worth doing anything unless everybody begins to doubt us. That's when we begin to stir.
Here you can see a parallel with our Polish cousins.
War is the Russian Tao.