The totalitarian impulse is simply too deeply imbedded in the Russian soul. To generalize a bit, they think Western values of freedom and civil rights (among others) are naive and idiotic. Hence you get the Putins. The problem isn’t Putin; he’s the symptom of a problem. They simply haven’t been able to find a way out of their historical hole. – JB

It was always a mystery to me why post-Soviet Russia failed to explode economically. It has rich supplies of natural resources, physical size, westernized population. My working assumption was the financial theft by the eight “oligarchs” which immediately sent Russia into a black market economy.

It was never completely satisfying but I made do. Being a “Heinz 57 euro-mutt” with no ethnic connection to things Russian, not for me to contemplate the Russian Soul. But the words above fill in some of the blanks left by the technical explanation.

Something “similar” – very loosely speaking – going on with
the Chinese [Glenn Reynolds]:

“In China’s Olympic moment, foreign critics are focusing on all the country has failed to achieve, from its abundant air pollution to scant human rights. China’s citizens, on the other hand, see all that the country has accomplished after emerging from foreign domination and internal turmoil. They are proud of those achievements and resentful of foreigners pointing out China’s shortcomings, especially when those failings don’t bother the alleged victims.” …

Perhaps an appreciation of authoritarianism is an acquired taste.

I’m not about to get into ethnic profiling, but I also wondered about the Russians. It also helps to explain the “not right” feeling I have had about this whole Georgia affair.