I appreciate that you are trying to use arguments to support your position unlike some other Freepers. Why do Serbians and Bulgarians view Russia less negatively? I believe it has a lot to do with the fact that Serbia and Bulgaria have never been parts of the Russian Empire (Yes, Bulgaria belonged to the Soviet “empire”, but it wasn’t directly ruled by the Soviets.). Those nations that were invaded or ruled by the Russians know too well how the Russian rulers can oppress the people.
Historically Central and Northeastern non Russian Europeans have real and significant hisorical grievances against the Russians as they do against the Germans. Those Europeans were often Catholics and had to deal with Protestant Germans to their West and Orthodox Russians to their East. Although they were all ostensibly Christians there was very little love or charity exhibited by any of the groups toward each other. As currently seen these historical divisions continue to undermine Western culture and civilization.