“” “” I wonder often if this is really what the Russian people want, but have no way of knowing and the question rarely seems to be asked in our media. Do they really want their nation cozying up to Red China and Islamist Iran rather than building closer ties with the West? “” “”
ROLFMAO. The number of Russians travelling to US declined three to four times in 2017 alone. Probably even worse today. The above was a result of the US consular policies in the first place but it did catch with the the populationn and even with restrictions eased few Russians want to travel and see US anymore.
Put yourself in Russian’s shoes and think for one moment what are American ties for you at this point? An electrical grid hacked or someone teaching you how to run your railroad? Maybe a ‘pride’ parade?
Chinese and Iranian ties mean business, jobs and at least a sort of cultural exchange.
What US ties means? The trade between US and Russia is miniscule at this point. There is no even GM, Ford and Apple there anymore.
What you describe is the result of Russian government policies and tit for tat retaliation between Russia and the US over several years. And what percentage of Russians can afford to travel to the US, and how many does the government even allow to travel to the US.
It’s pretty naive to assume that the Russian people actually support the policies of their government, a government that increasingly cracks down on dissent and shuts down any news outlets or journalists that are critical of the the Putin regime.
And, of course, government is working on plans to deny Russian citizens ongoing access to the world wide web. What the Russian people really want for their nation cannot be easily determined with the circumstances that exist there now.
But there was still a pretty busy Russian anchor baby tourist business to south Florida the last I heard.