The Russian military is weaker and smaller but it hasn’t really changed has it, after all, they are invading a neighbor right now.
Twenty years has not changed Russia fundamentally, we hoped that we could bring them into civilization and the company of man, but Russia is unchangeable.
“The Russian military is weaker and smaller.”
That really is not true anymore.
~we could bring them into civilization and the company of man~
I’m sorry, ansel, but you aren’t honest. Or maybe you are but simply have no idea what are you talking about. To me you personnally are still fighting a cold war.
As for the western elites (leftist to boot) they are probably disappointed that Russia is not communist anymore. Russia surely had better press in old times.
Looks to me like Russia’s Putin has been attempting to “change” Russia people from the old USSR....rather like Obama’s been attempting to “change” this nation’s people to something it’s not but what he wants it to be.
They both are dealing with “generations” who continue to see their country as it was, and the younger generations who want a different country...
It takes years and a change in the generations to pivot a country’s people to “think” differently. Obama’s doig it by focusing on the youth via educating them to think as he does...Putin is trying to satisfy both generations enough to bring them forward....neither is doing that very well...though Obam’s much more organized to bring it about in our country.