The idea of making a person stand under something that might fall ought to give you the idea that their 'safety factor' might be less than stellar. If the whole thing collapses, it saves them the trouble of having to kill the engineer for wasting their resources ... not to mention dump trucks.
In the West, we often have great trouble understanding the Russian way of thinking especially about success or failure. We often are baffled by their pessimistic outlook and their stubborn refusal to cooperate with others. There is a famous Russian proverb about this mentality.
One day a poor villager happens upon a magic talking fish. It says it will grant him a single wish. Overjoyed, the villager weighs his options: “Maybe a castle? Or even better, a thousand bars of gold? Why not a ship to sail the world?”
As the villager is about to make his decision, the fish interrupts to say there is one important caveat, "Whatever you get, your neighbor will get two of the same."
Without skipping a beat, the villager says, “In that case, please poke one of my eyes out.”
Russians will gladly – gleefully, even – sacrifice their own success to screw their neighbor. This pessimism infects all their thinking. When exposed to American optimism, they take offense at our confidence, claiming we are both arrogant and naïve about the ways of the world.
