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I just don't understand how someone can be proud about modern Russia in any way.

Bad doesn't cancel out good, they exist side by side. I admire the US for it's amazing alternative culture (steampunk, goth, robots, anime, comic books, oh my). I admire it for it's incredible technological innovation. I have often weighed those things against the lack of support for it's citizens (No free healthcare, little to no vacation, often mandatory overtime, rich wins legal system, etc). I don't know as much about Russia and the US but I'm sure that it has a tremendous amount of good and bad living side by side. There's plenty to be proud of as well as ashamed of.

> I don't know as much about Russia...

Unfortunately I know about Russia too much. I totally agree with you, but from my point of view and with information that I'm getting about Russia I can't see how to look at that country from positive perspective.

Go visit Russia, it's hard to evaluate any country based on information gleaned from the outside.

Edit: Actually, by visit, I mean go and live there for a while

I live in Belarus, so I think I can imagine what Russia is like (we have less issues in country, but most of negative aspects are same).

Well, you can be proud Russia has a very sane 13% flat national tax system while the US has incomprehensible tax code.

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