And when it comes to preserving national “face,” Russia and India are perhaps touchier than most countries; Russia has always felt looked down upon by western European powers, and India is still reckoning with a legacy of colonial humiliation.
所有这些行为似乎都过分而且幼稚。但因为外交官是国家在国外的官方代表，他们的象征意义远远超过自己的个性。他们就如国旗般神圣：侮辱他们就是侮辱这个“民族”。而且在涉及维护国家“颜面”的问题上，俄罗斯和印度或许比许多国家都要坚决；俄国一直感觉被西欧列强看不起，而印度则仍然无法放下殖民年代所受的屈辱。