No. But, as our friend Ivan here said, the Russians are taught in school that they went to "save Finland" and the finnish misunderstood. You think the ruskies ever consider their own wars to be anything else than reactionary? They think that they have the moral high ground, just like you do. All im saying is that we dont know the real agenda behind US.
Russia fears a democratic and free market spread in the 3rd world and Ukraine. Russia's economy is only as powerful as Canada, which is awful for having such a large population and territory. With the spread of democracy and the free market comes competition, Russia is afraid they will be dragged down even further which is why they support dictators who will isolate nations to be dependent on them.
You're right about Russians reacting to their own interests though. The same reasons they don't want democracy or Free Markets in the Middle-East or Africa to succeed are the same reasons they wanted Eastern Europe's economy to be weak and dependent, which is why they occupied them for 50 years and robbed them blind. More competitive economic powerhouses like India or China are not in their interest. Sure the US benefits from it's own ambitions economically, but that is the principle of a free world market economy, everyone benefits, however Russia views the additional competition this would bring as an economic threat to their nation.
Without a fear or threatening perception of the West, Russian leaders won't be able to convince their people that there is a reason to be economically isolated, which is why they continue this rivalry. Putin knows that a war with the US would be impossible militarily, he also knows that the US has no interest in fighting Russia, which is why he continues his saber rattling for popularity.
Sure there are plenty of reasons for Russians to love Putin, he has fought against the corrupt politicians and businessmen that plagued Russia for years which others before him were afraid to do. But it's important not to forget that his saber rattling against the West is purely fabricated drama for popularity. It is a cowardly and greedy way to gain popularity in the face of real world problems which Russia could be aiding the rest of the world in solving instead of acting solely on their own personal ambitions.
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