My friend is Russian, German, and like 1/16 Blackfoot Native American. I personally think Russian people are alright. I can speak very little Russian myself, but my friend is actually quite fluent.
I fell in love with Russia (Stalin era, mostly) after I played Red Alert 3. Thankfully my friend was a huge Cold War nerd, and I had a good time learning about the tension between Russia and America during the Cold War.
Though no, I'm not from Russia. Though I am in love with it's culture.