KABUD:
I think have it exactly wrong. If you won’t call the people of Russia to account for their misdeeds (supporting Putin and his draconian crackdown on civil society, or turning a blind eye to it, and refusing to demand that the Kremlin spend windfall oil revenues on national welfare rather than cold war) then you can’t expect them to behave responsibly or affect reform.
Russia is the way it is because of the people of Russia. They informed on their neighbors, or turned a blind eye as others did so, during the time of Stalin, and they are continuing to do so now — in no small part because confused people like you rationalize their behavior.
Time is running out for the Russians. A third national collapse within a century is in the offing, and this one could be fatal. Russian people must demand reform, as Alice correctly states: “Otherwise, Russia shrinks to nothing and is overrun by its southern neighbors.”
