There's one point western people miss about the democracy in Russia. The thing is that the part of the society which is connected with the government, local authorities, parliament, city councils, etc. is relatedly separated from the rest of the population. Of course there's no barrier of entry but the perspectives of growth are relatively limited for a newcomer.
Consequently at all elections the same group of people competes for the seats (to some extend). It's especially visible on regional layer. In fact this situation hasn't changed from the Soviet period.
And as you might imagine these people are very uncomfortable with that democratic thingy. During the late 90s the United Russia was introduced to support the most popular politician of that time (Putin). It was created from the ground up and expanded very aggressively. Joining that party looked like a clear opportunity to improve once position. That's why everybody tried to jump in.
The resulting growth was enormous! And combined with a complete inability of right parties to form a strong opposition this resulted in the formation of the superparty. Suddenly everybody in this ruling slice of the society felt the comfort of the good old days of the Soviet Era: 'just join UR to get a warm fuzzy feeling' :)
Now here's the thing western people do not understand: this situation is Ok! It's much much better than what Russia had during the 90s. One thing Putin tries to teach other politicians it that there're some formal rules which they should follow at least to some extend. As it was already said at least small and medium businesses are not forced to pay for 'protection'. That's a huge thing because it affects the whole nation. People have at least some confidence and feel secure.
After all democracy is not that much important. And comparing to China democracy is doing pretty well in Russia.
The real political problem today is the lack of strong right opposition. Communists are doing pretty well on the left side with about 20% of support among the population. But on the right side there was never a strong entity. If there's one I'm sure it could get about the same support ratio. These two strong oppositions could ultimately overcome this superparty situation. Than it depends. If UR gets divided into two parties Russia will end up with two identical parties of equal power (US model). If it stays united then it will be a three-party system (European model). Anyway, if there are no revolutions or big wars I would expect them to become democratic before the end of the century. Otherwise we'll have to wait even longer.
Personally I do not expect to see a democratic Russia during my lifetime (I'm in my early 20s).
Thing you should know:
1. Despite what you might be told by your officials Russia is not a big deal. It's just a country.
2. They are not your enemy and they never want to.
3. If you let them (and help them) build a better image of Russia they'll be very thankful.
4. They want to fell big and important. So be it. If your president decided to gang up with a couple of others just invite Russian leader over as well. Meeting in Russia is a good idea as well.
5. When the right opposition start to form don't rush and don't give them you aid. Otherwise it's reputation will be tarnished among the nation. It must be a homegrown thing. That's something US gov and NGO screw things up all the time. Once there're western money involved these democrats will start targeting each other, not the superpower. Look at a Belorussian opposition as an example.
6. Just do what you have to anyway: go green, improve recycling, ease the environmental pressure, reduce oil and gas consumption. Once you do it you won't give a dime about their pipes.
7. Bring all that green high tech to Russia. Russians are smart and they want to live on a healthy planet, too.
Communism is not really a bad thing and it doesn't prevent the democracy. I live in a western European country now. But when I walk along the streets I see the same life my parents had in Soviet Russia. How ironic is that!
edit: formatting