Really ? I thought because they saw their own lives being diminished due to the misguided reforms & broken promises of the 90s ??? Maybe its this insensitivity that has turned the RUssians away from the west in general

Mr.DePetris,

if you pretend to make a seriose analysis, you should be more accurate with facts. Putin was elected President not in 1998 but in 2000. Disturbing the facts is quite normally for anglo-saxon press and for anglo-saxon morality, isn't it?

Huge level of conpetency is the distinctive feature of US "democratic" press as well.

When Yeltsin unleashed the first Chechen War, nobody in the West said that it was a roll back from Democracy.
When Chechen terrorists attacked the Republic of Dagestan and Putin set troops to quell them, the mass media sky rocketed to blame him for everything he had done and would do.
For over 9 years they have been pondering western public that 'he was ex-KGB'. Putin was a retired lieutenant-colonel - just nothing. When liberal Mayor of St.Petersburg Anatoliy Sobchak lost the election in the city, Putin became unemployed for a long time.
Don't blame the mirror for seeing a wry face in it.
For it is your face.

Hilarious. Not a word about the fact that the US government cares not how, or even whether, Russians live, only that their government submit.

Before "FreeMarketDemocraticReform", the population of the Russian Federation was growing by ~800,000/year. During "FreeMarketDemocraticReform", deaths in Russia grew by ~50%, and births dropped b half. The population of the Russian Federation was dropping by ~800,000/year.

Putin has turned this around, despite venomous Western criticism, like the ignorant article here. Russians understand this. They also read articles like this in the US press. They then draw the logical conclusion that the US media, and the country as a whole, hates them. They reciprocate the feeling.

This is not difficult to understand.

Hilarious. Not a word about the fact that the US government cares not how, or even whether, Russians live, only that their government submit.

Before "FreeMarketDemocraticReform", the population of the Russian Federation was growing by ~800,000/year. During "FreeMarketDemocraticReform", deaths in Russia grew by ~50%, and births dropped b half. The population of the Russian Federation was dropping by ~800,000/year.

Putin has turned this around, despite venomous Western criticism, like the ignorant article here. Russians understand this. They also read articles like this in the US press. They then draw the logical conclusion that the US media, and the country as a whole, hates them. They reciprocate the feeling.

This is not difficult to understand.

Russian nationalism is typical inferiority complex. Nationalism with military and industrial might (Hitler) is dangerous for neighbors, nationalism without real industrial power and decaying military is laughable. Do they teach Chinese in Russia?

Ohhh I am sorry, I meant to reference Vladimir Putin's rise to power as one of Russia's First Deputy Prime Ministers in the late 1990's; the position that essentially paved the way for Mr. Putin's presidential run one year later. While warranted, your nit-picking is irrelevant to the more general point. What is relevant is the fact that Russia has made tremendous strides over the past decade under Putin's leadership, whether the United States likes it or not. Moscow is now a powerful player in the international system. In fact, you know your country is a powerful player when the world's remaining superpower is constantly trying to cajole you on important issues of global security.

russia is large enough and has enough resources to have whatever feelings about the rest of the world it wants and still succeed. sound familiar?

america was not founded upon freedom but upon disregard for perceived inferior people. we know what happened to native americans and africans for however many hundreds of years. americans have severe superiority complex disorder, how else can you explain their foreign policy since wwII inparticular? it's our way or no way at all, been that way since the beginning. It's what america is all about

Hm... I am young russian(1990 bd), but I don't hate America.
nowdays we remember "this nasty 90th"(I mean 1990-1999 y)(personally I don't remember it, because was small, but I've heard a lot) with humor.
It was dark time for Russia - crimes were everywhere, doctors' and teachers' salary was nearly 100$(!) per month(nearly),
main part of villagers(in 1990 - nearly 25-30% population) couldn't find any job, because Soviet organization of food industry was ruined. As a result they began to drink alcohol. Nowdays most part of "survived" villagers are women nearly 70 years old...
If you try to become another man, but your result will be worse, than it were before, you'll claim this another man, that he helped you to ruin. partly US did it. that why now our youth don't like US(in my personal opinion, of course!)
And than in 2000...
oil prices became to grow very fast, state had many money, all this problems were hidden.

For your ingnorant comments, since they contain no proof or evidence whatsoever other than the ramblings of a madman, I ask you, where do you life right now? Russia is the country I should remind you, that currently teaches that World War II was won almost solely by Russian hands (the thousands of American and British losses don't count) and that in that thinking, Allied actions in Africa and Asia didn't matter (Russia didn't have a major campaign in those places at all).

Why is it that you fools in America always think that when articles refer to "the West", it's always about the US. The West refers to Western Europe (Germany, France, England) and Canada as well, maybe even South America. Don't be so self centered...

The Western media, unlike your Soviet-like press, aren't censored in the least. While it's true that they don't cover some stories, at least they have the freedom too, unlike the writers who "disappeared" or according to Putin "died of natural causes", the only cause of death really being of radiation poisoning. No, I think the "Western propaganda machine" has alot more freedom than the Russian press. Don't assume that because things against you are negative that it must mean they they are wrong and an attempt to sabotage you, what ever happened to petroitska...

While true about Osettia, my favorite part of your argument is that when Russian "came to the aid of the Osettians" they didn't stop at the border, no in fact the Russian military TRIED TO OCCUPY THE GEORGIAN CAPTIAL, tell me then, how is that related to helping the Osettians? Or would perhaps it have more to do with the fact Georgia, Russias neighbor, was trying to join NATO?