You not living here for decades and refusing the local language on principle makes a huge difference.

People you’re dealing with age makes a big difference too. 35+ will speak good Russian and probably have a hard time with English. Younger are very likely to be the other way around.

P.S. Mantas was super popular name in late 80s thanks to a movie Herkus Mantas.

Well, that's true. But then I tried to learn at least "please" and "thank you" even when I was visiting in the 80's.

It does actually seem that it's the same people who would've refused to speak Russian before who are perfectly happy to do it now. Not that I would blame them at all, just find it amusing really.

Mantas I know is ~40+ years old, so probably not because of a movie.

> But then I tried to learn at least "please" and "thank you" even when I was visiting in the 80's.

Which already puts you way above local Russian-speaking population. We appreciate that. A lot.

> It does actually seem that it's the same people who would've refused to speak Russian before who are perfectly happy to do it now. Not that I would blame them at all, just find it amusing really.

It's kinda natural. People who saw obscenities in 1940s are dying out. The vocal pro-USSR/Russia people are diminishing too (although Latvia and Estonia may have different experience). Tension of the change of 1990s is gone. Those who weren't happy about the situation left for Russia or WE.

I'm pretty sure if Ukraine (as well as overall policies that caused it) hadn't happened, we'd have rather decent relations.

Thanks. Really, I can't understand how wouldn't you learn at least conversational language if you live in a country where it is spoken all the time...

I have a feeling that if not Ukraine, then something else would have happened anyway.

Me neither. I don't understand why Russian settlers after WW2 didn't feel a need to learn local languages. It looks like at least some of them feel culturally superior and try to stay away from "peasants" language.

As for the locals, when you're being forced at gunpoint to learn another language, resentment is natural. When the push is gone, it's kinda natural to exercise your newfound freedom too.

Of course, Ukraine was a symptom, not the cause. But if the cause for Ukraine was not there, it'd be damn nice. Now it will take at least another generation change for people to drop subconscious hate/fear of Russia. The clock is set back by 30 years if not more :(

Really. A lot of them don't even try to learn English in the US either.Even though unlike Lithuania you cam't really expect that random people on the street would be even a little bit familiar with it.

If the cause for Ukraine weren't there... I m afraid it would have been possible only if Russia weren't Russia.