Let me give you a little history for perspective.
Half a century ago, the UN and the US Foreign Policy Community had a positive mania for forcing the British and French to give up their empires in Africa, all in the belief that democracy would spring up overnight. (You can make the same arguments for the Middle East.)
The one man who saw clearly that it wouldn't happen that way was Barry Goldwater. He excoriated the idea, said it was a fool's errand and that it would merely create a playground for the CIA and KGB. He summed it up with a statement that has rung through the decades -- and I'm paraphrasing here.
"There are people that are not ready for democracy, and for religious and cultural reasons may never be ready for democracy. The best that can be hoped for is a benevolent dictator who is loyal to the US, not the Soviets."
The press and the Foreign Policy Community tore him apart for that statement, but he was right. Whether it's the Middle East or Russia, there are people whose lack of experience with English Common Law have made them unsuitable for self-government.
Ironically, I did a report on the Belgian Congo when I was in 6th grade. Seemed beautiful. Boats on the lake by the waterfall, tourism, industry, peaceful, etc.....since it was the 70s I am pretty sure I only had access to left wing sources. My kid did a report on Zaire in the 6th grade I read it out of curiosity to see what happened to the nation I read about 30 odd years ago. It broke my heart.