# Tougher ethnicity: Russians or Irish? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569 "2018-02-10T03:54:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Luciano700](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Luciano700](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luciano700)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/1 "2018-02-10T03:54:01Z")
I say Russians all the way ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/2 "2018-02-10T03:56:46Z")
Do you mean tougher as in - it is harder in society to be a member of this group? or Tougher as in - they have survived more abuse? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/3 "2018-02-10T04:20:36Z")
Russians have been histories bitches and have made almost nothing out of a massively wealthy land; the Irish survived Vikings and famine and have made a nice little democracy. They have also survived the Irish Curse. The Irish by a bulbous red nose. FTR…not Irish. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/4 "2018-02-10T04:38:19Z")
Have you seen all those dashcam vids from Russian traffic? I gotta go with the Russians on this one. When I was in basic training in the Army we had a Russian guy in there. He had the highest pt score in the whole company and would do push-ups while having guys kick him in his side, I was impressed by his toughness, but also his optimistic attitude about life. He specifically said he was a Tatar Russian. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/5 "2018-02-10T04:39:27Z")
If only Novgorad had prevailed over Rus history just might be much less terrible. > **[Novgorod Republic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novgorod_Republic)** > > The Novgorod Republic (Russian: Новгородская республика) was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of modern Russia. The Republic prospered as the easternmost trading post of the Hanseatic League, and its Slavic, Baltic and Finnic people were much influenced by the culture of the Viking-Varangians and Byzantine people. > The... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/6 "2018-02-10T05:14:20Z")
Russians. Both are a miserable lot, but the Irish successfully drink to forget their troubles while the Russians drink to remind them of their own. Russians never do anything the easy way. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/7 "2018-02-10T07:19:21Z")
My vote also goes to the Russians, really tough/hardy people. I’ve known quite a few and have family with both ancestries. Irish are _much_ more open and friendly. For the record, I am also speaking of those who emigrated from their respective countries to the U.S. or so the one’s I’ve met. Of course what i’ve noticed in one doesn’t mean those qualities are or are not present in the other, but is just an observation. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/8 "2018-02-10T13:07:29Z")
The Irish cry all the fucking time. The only time Russians cry is when they become wistful over WWII and missed opportunities of killing more Germans. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/9 "2018-02-10T16:22:32Z")
Let’s all perpetuate ethnic stereotypes! That’s the best way to fight ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/10 "2018-02-10T17:58:17Z")
Yeah, I’m not sure it’s healthy to worry about the toughness of individuals, let alone ethnicities. Would “Yes, the Irish are tougher!” somehow equate to “This particular Irishman is tougher”? Warning: Do not walk into a bar and decide to pick a fight with someone based on stereotypes. You might walk past Van Morrison to pick a fight with Maria Sharapova drinking vodka from a broken bottle. She’ll kick your flimsy American ass. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/11 "2018-02-10T18:38:04Z")
People in less well functioning societies have to be ‘tougher’. That’s overall not particularly speaking of fist fights, but those are also more common in more dysfunctional societies. Ireland is one of the richest democracies per capita and a lot of the Irish diaspora is long assimilated in other rich countries, even if their ancestors came from a then-poor Ireland. Russia is a borderline developing country with a particularly nasty problem of corruption and lack of the rule of law even relative to its economic status. And the Russian diaspora, especially people who identify as ‘Russian’ (many multi-generation Americans of Russian heritage for example are Jewish and don’t identify as ‘Russian’) is mainly recent in their new countries. The answer is obvious. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/12 "2018-02-10T19:03:01Z")
The famine days are gone, and things changed since the leprechauns moved out and the yupprichauns moved in. This is like your 6th thread about masculinity or toughness. Got something to say? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/13 "2018-02-10T22:59:33Z")
If you extend it basically to the Empire’s borders I’ll go Russians; and the further east we go the tougher we seem to get. If you are talking Russ vs the Irish I would call it a coin-flip. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/14 "2018-02-10T23:21:15Z")
Early in WWII there were Soviet units that had infantrymen advancing with a small amount of ammo but no rifles. (“Pick one up when your comrade isn’t using it anymore!”) Behind them machineguns were posted to ensure they advanced. The (Union) Irish Brigade in the American Civil War intentionally **chose** to equip itself with smoothbore muskets, except for the light companies. The plan was to advance through fire using Irish aggressiveness and then use buck and ball to gain fire superiority in the short range fight. By itself that just speaks to a decision when the ramifications of the newer rifled muskets was unknown. The core regiments of the Brigade didn’t turn in their smoothbores till late 1863. They just stuck with the original concept to get close, pour out a couple rounds of buck and ball, and then charge with the bayonet. For overly broad comparisons of battlefield toughness with entirely unspecified evaluation criteria, I give advantage Irish. I may have also picked up the nickname “The Irishman” at one point in my military career so I might be a wee bit biased. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/15 "2018-02-10T23:28:11Z")
Russians are tougher but dumber. Irish aren’t as tough but they are a more civilized people. They wouldn’t keep re-electing Putin for example. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/16 "2018-02-11T03:21:57Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Russians are tougher but dumber. > > Irish aren’t as tough but they are a more civilized people. They wouldn’t keep re-electing Putin for example. No, just almost elected Sean Gallagher. He’s not quite Trump, but some similarities, and granted President of Ireland isn’t the head of government. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/17 "2018-02-11T17:02:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Russians are tougher but dumber. > > Irish aren’t as tough but they are a more civilized people. They wouldn’t keep re-electing Putin for example. I don’t really think Putin needs a single vote to get elected. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/18 "2018-02-11T18:03:20Z")
I think the only to really settle this is… Cage Match! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/19 "2018-02-12T20:18:49Z")
So the real question in the OP is “Who is tougher - people or people?”. 'Cause that what Russian and Irish folk are - people with a broad spectrum of toughness (and every other human characteristic). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569/20 "2018-02-12T23:21:21Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > So the real question in the OP is “Who is tougher - people or people?” Oh, well, then: “Russians.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tougher-ethnicity-russians-or-irish/808569.md?page=2)