Marcus might be talking from a perspective of a newly examined person in their early 20s.
Basil77 and I are talking from the perspective of someone much older and more experienced.

When I read the Swedish Study Russian forum, there are tons of people who complain that they can't afford to go to Moscow, to study there etc.
But I am thinking, Russia is big... there are other places to go to, train tickets and coach tickets in Russia are not THAT expensive, and they would perhaps have to accept a flat which is less modern, shared with some others etc.
Pretty much same as if they want to go to England, to be honest. If a Russian person wanted to study English, they should go to a smaller town, and they'd find they could afford it and learn just as fast. Europe has slightly higher salaries, but also higher prices!
I was young and very poor once, and I am past that point in my life, thank God!

And also, I can tell you that there are a lot of rich Russians around in the capitals of Europe. They are the dream customers of Steinmann's department store in Helsinki, and shop in the best places in London. I see them a lot, eating at restaurants I can't afford, and dressing like fashion queens.
Russia is such a rich country if everything was just more fairly distributed!

It's not my fault that the USSR didn't manage to build communism for real (I wish they had!), or that things went crazy in the 90s. I looked UP to Russia while I grew up, not for the material standard of living, maybe, but for other things. I refuse to look down on it now. I am sorry about the suffering of people in the 90s though. But in regards to Russia, I do not feel any "rich country guilt" like I would towards a country in Africa or something. If people in Russia stopped putting up with corruption and other BS from their government, things would improve a lot, I think.

In Belarus, and Ukraine -- I do/did feel a little bit like that, because they are smaller countries, and both have not been treated right by EU and their fate has not been in their own hands in the same way. They do not have the same resources as Russia.