"If these Russkies are so clever how come their aircraft crash so often?"
Maybe because they do sell cheaper aircraft in Africa and the African operators abuse them and neglect them. Fact is the Russkies build an airplane that still flies even after typical African and third world abuse. If a third world operator abuses a Boeing and it crashes is Boeing to blame? I saw an AN 32 repaired with shopwindow aluminum after a local pilot pulled the gear before liftoff and it still flew. When the nose gear collapsed Antonov was blamed. During the repair I was privelaged to work with a very professional Russian crew including a pilot who admitted that he had to work on the aircraft in the workshop as part of his pilot training.
The Russian Soyuz still flies after many years of use
( transporting yanks and their bits ) while the wonderful Space Shuttle remains grounded!!
Whose aircraft defend our forests from fire?