I’ve been studying US history recently, and I must say, it’s pretty different from the way Russian education system frames it. It’s no surprise, but some takes are just unbelievably cynical. For instance, the Soviet and post-Soviet version of US History claims that Americans are primarily descendants of criminals who fled to the New World in an attempt to escape justice. This may sound funny until you realize how dangerous those delusions may be if they’re held by hundreds of millions of people.

Of course, not everyone buys this narrative and most folks don’t really care, but reading about more objective takes on US history is quite an amusing experience. To take one example, I didn’t know that some original British colonies were first settled by deeply religious communities which had practically nonexistent crime rates. Those facts are especially entertaining if you’re aware of the Soviet narrative.