The NYTimes had a similar article a month ago describing the exact same Russian and Finnish populations and suggesting lack of microbes might be related to celiac disease:
I'm pretty sure there was a HN discussion on this, but I can't find it.
Edit: in reply to another comment, the article claims that the two populations are culturally, linguistically and genetically related, so genetics don't explain the differences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/opinion/sunday/what-really...
I'm pretty sure there was a HN discussion on this, but I can't find it.
Edit: in reply to another comment, the article claims that the two populations are culturally, linguistically and genetically related, so genetics don't explain the differences.