The first episode of Top Gear Russia aired this weekend on the televisions of those in the former communist nation lucky enough to own one, and while it’s as close as one could (maybe) hope to its UK progenitor, we might not be Russian enough to really get it.

Regardless, our impression is that the Russian version suffers from issues similar to our Aus-spec Top Gear.  Trying too hard to be like the original, and not enough unique new concepts brought to the show. 

Still, it remains to be seen what the show’s intended audience thinks of it.  No doubt all the backwards letters make more sense to them than they did to us.

There’s a subtitled version of the first episode to be found at Final Gear, though you’ll need a player like VLC to be able to use the subtitles.  I wouldn’t recommend watching it without them.