I lived abroad during my young age, it was the same mindset. Everyone tried to fuck you. I think that was even worse where i was than in Ukraine.
I remember my father making some marks with a pen on the tyres before going to the garage to avoid the tyres be replaced by older ones. This type of things.
This is something that our white collars in Bruxell don't have any clue. They believe that they bring modernity and upper values like knights. They don't know that in some worlds the civilization comes very binary :
1/ The one who fucks
2/ the one who is fucked
There no such a deal where everyone is a winner.
That's doesn't exist.
The one who is f.. ed is the inferior one, and just desserve to be spit on his face (try to make a parrallel with those nice thinking heads in Europe who believe that they will get some respect by giving billions of euros to help foreigners ... UDACHI).
The one who takes the advantage is the winner and everybody laughs listening the story of the gladiator (or he supposes he has been the winner, sometimes it's not really the case lol...)
I think i got the right paranoia from this old time (my french mechanic last time tried to make me believe that he could'nt yet repare my car because the parts were not available but he didn't know that i had already called the company and knew that the part had been already delivered
)
Now i wouldn't work for a ton of money in Africa.
Maybe later in Ukraine but in very specific conditions.
Anyway Trench, Krim and I would again recommand you to grab a maximum of russian, let it be to shake your flag pole in the country or setup a business.