I was enjoying a typical Milanese afternoon with prosecco and (relevant to the story) non-Russian company. When completely unprompted, a fellow Gen Z participant said: “I wish I could go to Moscow, I really respect Russian values. They have traditional values, not like the West”. Needless to say, this derailed the conversation and made me think 2 things: first, that being a houseplant is underrated; and second, whether Russia’s “traditional values” brand amounts to anything m