I lived in 5 former USSR republics for 15 years plus 5 years in the former GDR.
First trip to Moscow was in ’86 as a student.
I married a lady from the region, a child of mine was born there and have investments there. A genius surgeon operated on one of my children and did things that US doctors were unable or unwilling to do.
Needless to say, there is much positive about Russia which gets overlooked.
If you go through life easliy believing only the good or the bad about any particular place or culture, you put on blinders and that can severely limit your ability to see opportunity or put things in perspective.
The Russian economy is very dependent on oil, but there are many very intelligent people over there. A fair number are content with the “fair to very good” opportunities they have. Yes many would like to immigrate but that can also be very disruptive if not done at the right time in life.
Alcohol and drug abuse are major problems, but one can live a normal life over there without that getting in the way.
State control of the media is pervasive, but free information is available online for those who want more sources.
Many Russians of mid-upper economic status travel abroad and are quite aware of their relative status in the world.
The period from 2003-2007 was good one, the past few years have been rough but not nearly as much as the 1990s when many basic items were in short supply or the final days of Communism when there were regular lines for food. (which I personally saw in Moscow in 1986).
For a person who wanted to learn the language and deal with some hardship, places like Chekassy, Bishkek, Chisinau, Odintsovo, Kazan, Baku and Moscow were a great way to gather a wide range of experiences and earn enough to come back to the US and have a good degree of economic freedom.
Of course, the Russian intervention in Ukraine and Syria are not helpful and many innocents have died, but no side in any of these messes is perfect. The US should more carefully consider potential outcomes when arming even “moderate” groups.
Russia will likely muddle along if not seriously provoked. Albeit, their media can’t seem to let up on the anti US propaganda. This is one potential silver lining of a Trump presidency in that the Russian leadership may well realize that focusing more on their internal development is needed to fully modernize the economy, but that will still take decades in spite of the progress that has already been made.
Their current president will likely stay on as long as his health will allow which could be at least eight more years.
I could go on, while the war in Ukraine did cause some sleepless nights, and Aleppo was tough to watch. I’d like to think that Russia may lose some of it’s appetite for adventurism (or using force to protect it’s vital interest) depending on your perspective.
In some ways, the US-Russian relationship is like a dysfunctional family which somehow wants mutual respect but can’t agree on certain things. As long as the occasional tussle doesn’t become suicidal, we’re ok but we’ll always need to stay vigilant.
The West in general could have done more in the 1990s to lessen the hardship in the region but the political leadership wasn’t there. Perhaps going forward, we can learn to engage in a manner which fosters some degree of real trust.
It hasn’t been helpful that the current administration has been learning on the job the past eight years.
