Most every time I asked Mikhail to say a particular phrase in Russian, he would respond by saying, "Mmmm, I don't really know how to say that," or "There's no real way to translate that to Russian," etc. If he was able to translate a particular phrase, it was often said sheepishly or hesitantly, because he wasn't sure it made sense in Russian.
When I asked him to say, "capitalist pig," however, no sooner did I ask the question than he proudly and confidently blurted out, "Capitalistichnya Svetnya!". Something tells me it wasn't the first time he'd used this phrase.