I've always thought they were kind of goofy, even for a Russian aircraft. The usual russian oddities (pneumatics for all the things instead of hydraulics or electrical stuff), the odd pneumatic starter, and so on sure but the landing gear was what gets me about it. It's not really retractable, it's more "foldable". I'm sure there is a reason for it that makes great sense to Russians.
Compared to an RV, they have a larger turn rate, lower turn radius, and generally inferior acceleration/climb/cruise or really just energy addition in any given flight regime in my experience.
But dang they are built tough. It's the "Strong like Horse, Smart like Tractor" mindset of Russian things again I suppose.