it's a bit surprising why many russians ask me: why do you want to learn russian language?

It seems that russian people are not aware that they have a big cultural heritage! Russian litterature is probably one of the best  in the world, Pouchkine, Gogol, Dostoevsky , and so many have no equivalent in the west.

When people say about Russia, the first thing that comes in my mind is the participation of this country in the history of the world in the century XX.

Then, I imagine the climate, the typical foods, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Russian Language, culture etc.

I think, honestly, that it is a great country with a very interesting language.

I askes that question because I met a lot of foreigners who knows about Russia such words (cliche) like: vodka, balalaika, bears, winter, cold, matreshkas, valenkis, red caviar, Kremlin, USSR, communism, mafia, oppression of gays, yetis etc.
It offends me very much, but the other side, as wrote to Mario Puzo: "It is always better when friend underestimates your advantages, and the enemy exaggerates (overstates) your shortcomings".

And I am grateful to those people who know about our great history, the most beautiful language and rich culture. Thank you very much!

Actually "bears, vodka, balalayka" is only russian myth about Russians. So Russians think that people abroad think about them, but nobody knows what is "balalayka" and nobody associates bears with Russia abroad, only Russians.

I wouldn't say it's sad, just bad taste.

Russian surnames ussually end in -ov,-ev,-in,–skyi (for male) and –ova,-eva,-ina,-skaya(for female),accordingly patronimic ends with the suffix (meaning either «son of» or «daughter of» ) -ovich,-evich(for male) and -ovna,-evna(for female).The same rule is still applied to the majority of non-slavic names of post-soviet countries