[goldstategop]

Most Russians regard the loss of their superpower influence as a blow to their sense of national pride. Yes, the USSR was an Evil Empire and it was a drain on Russia's development... but there was no denying it was a nuclear superpower that commanded world attention and respect. So there's this sense of nostalgia for the greatness of the country's past that President Putin tapped into. At the same time, no one in Russia wants to go back to Communism. Russia must develop as a free and democratic state. And join the world on the basis of this choice. There can be no return to the notion of imperial glory vanished but Russia can be a strong and proud country again.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[hershey]

Being a superpower is no walk in the park, as Uncle Sam would be the first to admit. There's a great deal to be said for being way down on the high and mighty list. You can do your own thing, mind your own business, and nobody will blame you for everything from soup to nuts.

[JasonC]

Of course. But the blow to their pride should be that all that effort was wasted on evil. Strength and pride and glory aren't bad things, but they can't be founded on the destruction of morality and the debasement of men. Right now, Putin is still exporting effort wasted on evil, by supporting the worst goons in the world all over the map, thinking it is strength and glory I suppose. It isn't, it is moral squalor. Goodness first, morality first, serving civilization and human dignity first. Then if all those other things are added, they are good things indeed. Without those moral underpinings, they are rot.