Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.

This saying is widely circulated as a Russian proverb (often treated as a piece of folk wisdom rather than a line traceable to a single author or first publication). It reflects a long-standing moral and social idea common in many cultures: that a person’s character and values are revealed by the company they keep. In Russian-speaking contexts it is typically invoked as practical advice—especially to parents, elders, or mentors—warning that friendships and social circles can shape behavior and reputation. Because it is proverbial, it likely spread through oral tradition and later through collections of proverbs and aphorisms rather than originating in a single identifiable historical moment.

The proverb asserts that identity is legible through association: friends function as a mirror of one’s habits, priorities, and moral standards. It implies both selection and influence—people choose companions who match their dispositions, and companions in turn reinforce or reshape those dispositions. The line also points to social judgment: communities often infer trustworthiness, ambition, or vice from a person’s circle, fairly or not. As a cautionary maxim, it urges deliberate friendship as a form of self-cultivation, suggesting that character is not only an inner quality but also a social practice expressed through loyalties, shared activities, and the norms of one’s peer group.