He is right not to answer that, as an answer on permanent record would only open up potential regulatory/legal risks, for no gain.

Whether this project succeeds or not is going to be determined by how hard and well he works in the future, not whether or not he is anonymous.

Some of the best crypto projects have anonymous developers, following in the tradition of Satoshi Nakamoto.

For instance, given what I know of FINCEN regulation, if I ever developed a cryptocurrency myself, I would do so anonymously and most especially without anyone knowing I am an American technically under their jurisdiction.

By the way, I doubt he is Russian, since, if he was, he wouldn't need to pay for a Russian translation.  He might be European, though, but it doesn't matter.