18. Moscow does not believe in tears.
This saying developed at the time when the Moscow grand dukes began to gather the Russian principalities around Moscow and unite them into a single state. It was a long and difficult process, and it was not without conflicts. Residents of various principalities have repeatedly turned to the Moscow prince with tearful complaints about abuses and harassment by the Grand ducal administration, but the prince preferred not to believe these complaints and did not pay attention to them. The saying "Moscow does not believe in tears" has survived for centuries. However, she has always referred only to a part of the Moscow population: officials, government officials, arrogant owners of large capitals. Ordinary Muscovites have always been famous for their kindness and hospitality. The poet Valentin Sorokin, who came to Moscow from Bashkiria in 1962, wrote, addressing Moscow:
You opened the doors in every house,
Lived like a mother in my simple fate.
Who says: "Moscow does not believe in tears!"
No, you believe me, I know by myself.