Does this necktie make me look Russian?

A minor but completely unexpected challenge we faced as scouts in Georgia was that people kept asking us if we were Russian. It didn't take us too long to work out that this was due to our Bordeaux neckties.

It must be noted that the Georgians are not all that happy with the Russians, particularly because they invaded and killed a number of Georgians in 2008. I met two people who had witnessed these horrors and they should not be underestimated.

Being compared to Russians was therefore not optimal. Two of our number even decided to remove their neckties completely in the end to eliminate all doubt of their nationality. Though we never experienced any aggressive behaviour, I think this may have been a good move. The rest of us stayed true to our uniform and kept the necktie on for the duration of the trip.

It wasn't until the very last day that we realised exactly why we were believed to be Russians: talking to my friend and her father I was told that when he had gone to school they had been made to wear similar neckties by the Russians.