Oooeeefff Russians. I've met a lot of Russians on vacations and usually find them pleasant enough but for some reason the "nouveau riche" crowd seem to go to Egypt in large numbers. Every single time I've encountered Russian divers in Egypt they have been loud, even by American standards, heavy drinkers and under water they can easily turn into suicidal human torpedoes that try to find the bottom no matter how deep it is. I'd worry a bit about diving with one of those nouveau riche Russian divers (especially young men) if I couldn't talk to them before the dive, but for the rest, I've never had trouble.
I know that's a big generalization that's probably unfair to a lot of Russian divers but it does say something when you book a week in a dive camp and they spontaneously send you back an email saying, "you're in luck, there are no Russians coming while you're here." LOL
R..
My Russian didn't drink much, had the most expensive gear, didn't talk much either and was traveling with his non-diving wife. Poor woman, stuck on Sipadan with a bunch of divers in a grubby room, and no English. She seemed to have a lot of books with her. In any event, my Russian had about 30 dives but they were each and every one at the very best locations. Can't remember them exactly, but almost all of them were on my bucket list, and probably most others too! We had a night dive together and another two tanks the following day. I approached my DM, and without having to say a word, the DM said, yes, you shouldn't be diving with him. I'll pair him up with someone else and you'll dive with me. My week improved immensely. Really, my Russian wasn't that bad a diver for the number of dives he had, so must have had good instruction along the way . . .but he just wasn't ready to be my buddy (says I). hee hee
