Misconception: He’s
an intentionally cruel character.

Reality: He’s
cognitively unaware of his cruelty+ his cruelty is described as child-like. In
other words, he’s doesn’t have the mental capacity to realize the repercussions
of his abuse. He was tormented and abused in childhood and subsequently
normalized it.

Ex: General Winter attacks him on an annual basis despite
offering protection [x]

Ex: He was conquered [bullied] by several nations when he
was a much smaller power.

Of course, this doesn’t aim to justify his actions, but it’s
important to understand that he’s not consciously malicious or sadistic in
nature. He’s characterized as a child-like adult that doesn’t have an accurate
perception of the world due to the trauma he experienced in his childhood. You
can feel pity for him without condoning his actions. Longer post on that here.

Multiple character notes corroborate this too [x]. 

Vol 1: “A gigantic
northern nation that has been tormented ever since childhood. At
the first impression, he seems to be a pure-hearted country bumpkin, and yet,
conversely speaking, he holds a child-like cruelty. Compared to other nations,
Russia’s history has seen more bloodbaths and tragedies.”

Vol 2: “He loves Vodka.
He has the simplicity of a country bumpkin and the cruelty of a child mixed
together.”

Vol 3: “A biiig, gentle,
and naive nation! He isn’t malicious, just extremely scary!”

Vol 4-5: “He’s
frighteningly innocent! + This huge northern country is giving off
a sense of oppression with his looks and his air of innocent scariness!”

I.e., in terms of mental
development, he’s remained as a perpetual child.

---

Misconception: He’s
evil.

Reality: Russia
isn’t good or bad. Someone who can’t tell right from wrong is incapable of
possessing morals. Instead, Russia often possesses good intentions despite the
disastrous consequences of his actions.

Ex: A repeated example, but the volume 4 character note
explicitly mentions that Russia isn’t a malicious person.

Ex: He thinks that anyone he meets is his friend.

Ex: He doesn’t realize that he hurts Latvia when he stretches
and squeezes him. He actually appears to kill Latvia briefly and remains
clueless to the pain he’s causing [x]. 

The only thing I would argue that Russia is conscious of is
the physical pressure that he puts on nations in order to get what he wants. I’ve
speculated before that Russia pushing down on Latvia’s head acts as a metaphor
for political pressure and suppression, hence the latter’s stunted growth.
Again, it’s like a child that knows what it wants and doesn’t tolerate any
deviating opinions.

Ex: Russia asks Latvia to help him build a railroad. When
Latvia refuses, Russia begins pushing down on his head until he complies [x]. 

Lastly, just like a child is capable of throwing tantrums,
Russia is the last nation you want to anger. He experiences mood swings that
are unpredictable, not to mention dangerous.

Ex: Russia naively believes that the Allies are his friends.
When Lithuania points out otherwise, Russia becomes angry, only to go through
another volatile shift in mood culminating in him feeling dejected.

Ex: He holds a covetous attitude towards nations that are/have been under his control [x]. 

---

Misconception: He’s hateful.

Reality: As the character note states, he can become “extremely
scary” if you do something he doesn’t like, but he’s far from hateful. He’s
known for his ability to forgive easily [x]. 

Ex: He dreams of living in a warm place surrounded by
sunflowers [x].

Ex: He loves children [x]. 

Just to prove again how unstable he is: he goes from
maternally feeding Estonia food with a bunny apron to threatening to assault
Estonia with a metal pipe—all executed with a smile on his face [x]. 

---

Misconception: He’s hated by all nations.

Reality: He’s feared and avoided for the most part. There are some notable grudges.

Ex: Although they’re not keen to be friends with Russia due
to the terror they experienced during the reign of the USSR, they don’t outright
hate him. They recognize that he’s unstable, and, therefore, can’t hold him
accountable for what he did. Instead, they keep their distance and still remain
fearful since this unpredictability hasn’t exactly gone away.

On the other hand, there are a few long-term grudges that
Russia’s held.  

He and England have experienced several feuds, and it’s even
alluded to the fact that England is additionally wary of Russia because of a
dark presence that surrounds him. Longer post on that here [x]. 

Ex: England’s magical friends conveniently sense a dangerous
presence and flee right before Russia makes his appearance during the Halloween
2013-2014 Christmas event.

Another notable one is the grudge that he held against Japan.

Ex: Russian clergymen cursed Japan, resulting in Japan
panicking at the possibility of Germany forming an alliance with Russia during WW2 [x]. 

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Bonus Facts: 

He’s very rarely depicted without his scarf. Ukraine gave it
to him when they were children.

His heart has a habit of falling out of his chest.

His hair is blond in the manga [x]. 

He’s big-boned [x].