In the bad old days, Russia was the global exemplar of communism. Of course the left was soft on them.
In the bad new days, Russia is the global exemplar of ethno-nationalism. Of course the right will be soft on them. To the degree that it's not, we're seeing a holdover from the Cold War that will not last long.
But affinities for false ideologies will necessarily distort our understanding of the world. Worse, attempts to reduce the development of international relations to the struggle of competing ideologies may omit relevant information, and particularly in this case some relevant continuities.
Russia remains illiberal. It remains expansionist. It would still be happy to see liberal democracy disappear from the world. It still can't be a friend of ours, and if it had reason to, it could wipe us off the face of the earth overnight. This is something that has never been true for ISIS or for any of the other two-bit enemies that we've fretted so much about since the Cold War nominally ended.
I tend to agree with most of what you say. I don't think Russia are particularly big on democratic values. I also believe they are becoming villainised as part of a tactic to advance a misguided US agenda. It doesn't take much to get people (western) to dislike Russia and Russian practices because they are never going to appear warm and fuzzy.
External pressure is not going to get Russia to change. I recommend cooperating where possible. I think Russia has made some progress. They have a long way to go as do we. I hope pressure from inside the country can eventually lead to further progress. I foresee culture being quite a barrier.
Another key thing to remember is that Government (western) always need someone to play the enemy (real or fake). Keeping tensions up with Russia provides that enemy with an apparent threat of WW3. The threat of war and fear that it causes gives Government greater power over the people.
How about an actual WW3. Who benefits? Are those that benefit from WW3 able to somehow induce it to happen? If the answer is 'yes' we should be very concerned. The answer at the moment is 'no'. So what are the necessary circumstances that could change that answer to a 'yes'. If these circumstances do not exist, we have nothing to worry about. Then again there is still pure stupidity.
dear @honeybee,you are right.
Russia is basically a regional power that has nukes. Other than petroleum, they don’t have much to offer the world.