Shawn,
Don't think the Russians are (were?) alone on this. If memory serves (and it's along time since I worked on one) but the same was true for BAC 1-11s. The CAA Overhead Panel was Back = ON but the FAA Overhead was reversed - Forward = ON.
When the JAA certified the CRJ-200 (with a CAA Project Pilot no less), they did not insist on switch reversal on the Overhead so the standardisation with Transport Canada/FAA/JAA should be Forward = ON. Have to agree with your "dark cockpit" philosophy and add "No superfluous EICAS (ECAM) messages".