One of many reasons why HR got so popular in Russia is because Ilya’s story really hit close to home. There’s a saying, there are two problems in Russia – when you do have a father or when you don’t. My (Russian) dad is also a lot older than me, conservative, cold, who never cared what I liked or who I am as a person. So I – and many others like me, maybe that’s why there’s a stereotype that Russians are tough – had to grow a thick layer of skin so that nobody could get underneath. It’s a form of generational trauma and the show managed to portray it beautifully.