I’m so lost… I didn’t know there is so much hostility towards Russia in the minds of Americans. “We-need-weak-Russia”-blah type of thing. Also, where are those paternalistic attitudes coming from? “We need to teach you”, “learn from us”, etc… First of all, there’s no such a thing as a universal formula, democracy is 1)multifaceted and 2) not necessarily the best solution, and to assume that “American values are universal” (as Condoleezza Rice once said) is at best ambitious.
Each time I go back to Russia, to my home town I’m most pleased to see how it develops… I guess, what I’m trying to say is that this is what matters most for us Russians at this point. Putin IS popular among the population, and for good reasons. And seriously, it is very possible that we will figure out our own way. To impose a model that successfully worked for someone else is not necessarily a good strategy.
Thanks!
