"Na miru i smert' krasna"

[Robert A. Rothstein]

Sophia Lubensky, in her Russian-English Dictionary of Idioms, explains 
the proverb as follows: "misfortunes are easier to bear when a person 
has his friends around him, or when he is with people who share a 
similar fate (formerly referred specifically to death)."

In addition to the translations already suggested (by Alina and Alfia) 
there's also "Troubles shared are troubles halved" and two French 
versions: "Chagrin partagé, chagrin diminué" (Shared trouble/sorrow is 
diminished trouble/sorrow) and "Malheur partagé, n'est malheur qu'à 
demi" (Shared misfortune is only half a misfortune).

These remind me (by rather free association) of the very different 
sentiment expressed in one of the late historian Kamil Dziewanowski's 
favorite quotations, François de la Rouchefoucault's Maxim 19: "Nous 
avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d'autrui/" /(We all 
have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others).

Bob Rothstein

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