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380 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
It didn't make any financial sense.
Then I remembered why he would do this: because it is the Russian thing to do.
There’s a famous Russian proverb about this type of behavior. One day, a poor villager happens upon a magic talking fish that is ready to grant him a single wish. Overjoyed, the villager weighs his options: “Maybe a castle? Or even better—a thousand bars of gold? Why not a ship to sail the world?” As the villager is about to make his decision, the fish interrupts him to say that there is one important caveat: whatever the villager gets, his neighbor will receive two of the same. Without skipping a beat, the villager says, “In that case, please poke one of my eyes out.”
The moral is simple - when it comes to money, Russians will gladly - gleefully, even - sacrifice their own success to screw their neighbour. - Bill Browder relating an anecdote from late 1997 about one of his early experiences with investments in Russia, excerpted from Red Notice