I agree and think that view of Russia is unfair to be honest. I’m Irish and the Irish have a relatively similar history (we had feudalism and colonialism and Russia had feudalism and communism - neither is democracy or “freedom”). Russia, and the Russian people, have done fantastic things in literature and science, and their history is amazing. I met a Russian girl recently and she called me her enemy. I was a little confused, but then she said I was British (I ain’t!) and the British are the enemy of Russia. She was very clear on this, it is how she viewed the world, or at least how she saw the dynamics of global powers. I had a great chat with her and we had great fun, I think, though, I was still her enemy at the end of the night. I think the same can be said of the “West’s” view of Russians, maybe not the enemy but certainly shady. It’s not helped by Putin and the poisonings but the ordinary Russian people are not really represented by him or by his actions.
As an aside, when I mentioned Putin, she called herself, mockingly, a daughter of Putin. Then she said, we had no playgrounds before he was in power, now we have playgrounds. It was a flippant remark, but a telling one all the same. The west neglected the Russians when the Soviet Union broke up. Bush/Regan celebrated a Cold War victory, which was a mistake. They should have embraced Russia and recognised the potential of the Russian people. I think the Russians have never got over being treated like this, which, obviously, has echos of the Germans in the 30s.
Sorry if I went on here, I think it’s an important subject.