[Lexinom]

Russia's recent history is a sad one, yes. The older people remember communism, and no Russian I've ever spoken with speaks fondly of those days. They've never been perfect, just as no nation has ever been perfect, but Tsar Nicholas II, given just one more year, would have changed the course of history in the Twentieth Century.

Curbed speech, waiting in lines, lack of individualism, and lack of entrepreneurial spirit (Russians admire it in Westerners but frown on it in other Russians), and decades of beat down in the long, sad wake of the Red Revolution, and the alcoholism and other despairs that come with that makes for a sad past 100 years indeed.

They are no utopia certainly, and Putin is in no wise a perfect leader, but they are a great nation with a long and storied history that is coming out of this hole, emerging. America is entering that same hole, for we collectively have yet to experience this long, sad lesson. I do not mean you or me or those on Free Republic, but rather the millennials and those who cheered Obama's election both times and have yet to put it all together.

[Longbow1969]

The older people remember communism, and no Russian I've ever spoken with speaks fondly of those days.

Interestingly enough, I have met plenty of Russians that look to the past with rose colored glasses.

I travel a fair bit and there is enough of a Russian middle class now to make themselves felt in Thailand, Turkey and a few other places where they take package tours.

Perhaps you know or have met far more Russians than I, but I've encountered plenty who look back to the days of the Soviet Union with pride and wistfulness. Even some of the very young that were born after the collapse, many think going back to the days of even Stalin would return Russia to its former greatness.

A similar phenomenon can actually be found in many of the older East Germans.

Russians have little experience with democracy, and unfortunately Putin is taking away what little chance they had in developing a sense of political/personal freedom, liberty, etc. Putin uses the state controlled media and classic propaganda to pull at their feelings of nationalism and order/security. In doing so he may destroy any opportunity Russians had for some of the freedoms of expression, assembly, etc, that we take for granted.

No, nothing Putin is doing is going to bless Russia. He may cleverly claim the mantle of protector of Christians in parts of the world they are killed (simply because it is a way of making America look even weaker thanks to Obama), but in reality Putin persecutes Christians and anyone else in his own country whom threaten his rule. That is what Putin cares about first and foremost, his own rule.