This could be a great "mytharc" episode, but it was ruined for me by some gross misinterpretations of Russia and Russians. I'm sure that American and European folks enjoyed it greatly, but at some points it annoyed me like hell.
Firstly, they couldn't make an episode about Russia without mentioning GULAG. It's as if there's nothing to say about Russia without this word. Frankly I can't remember a single American movie about Russians in which GULAG is not mentioned. Unbelievably annoying!
Then there are Russians on horses. I've been in the country a lot and I've never seen anyone riding a horse. Believe it or not, Russian people in the country have CARS. Basically no one rides horses, we're not barbarians for God's sake! Also, Alex Krychek reveals that he has a Russian heritage. His family name, however, is definitely not Russian. I've never heard of any Russian named Krychek.
On the other hand, it was good to see that most Russians in this episode were actually played by Russian actors, so I didn't have to suffer severe headaches trying to understand what they say in what is supposed to be my native language. Even Nicholas Lea speaks relatively well, that was a very pleasant surprise. Most of the Russian dialogue is grammatically correct, nothing to complain about.
On the whole, I enjoyed watching this episode, though it made me wonder once again - when will they learn to portray my country at least a bit closer to reality? 8 out of 10 for the story, 6 out of 10 overall.