That is very true when you look at it historically. The Russians did nothing but gain territory for most of their statehood through military expeditions, which lasted several hundred years and kept the other cultures suppressed. It failed at thriving.
To this day, the Mongol culture of drinking and whoring lives on strong in the Russian psyche. Many do not know that the Kievan Rus was at one point willing to accept Islam; the only reason they didn't was that King Vladimir said we couldn't give up drinking alcohol and consume pork as people wouldn't be accepting of it as those two items what makes them Slavic. Some say it's a legend, but looking at Russian behavior, I see it's not far from the truth.