[CCIP]

Well, Putin isn't that dumb. And he's played in with the west more than once - only when it was to his advantage.

I don't think the faults of the Putin government, let alone the Yeltzin government, are excusable. But of course you could turn it around and say that the West is perfectly reasonable in not getting too involved with 'reconstructing' Russia - after all, what interest is theirs to put back on its feet a giant with a massive nuclear arsenal?

I'm sad to acknowledge this, but from my observations of the people on both sides - the two are still in a cold war of sorts. Even if the outright animosity is gone, both still seem to snicker at each other's faults and quietly smirk to themselves when the other side gets its wings clipped. And get enraged when the other side doesn't work the way they want it to. The fact is that as the Russian government regains awareness of its world interests, it's coming back to playing the same game that the Americans haven't quit - vying for spheres of influence and a world that is as favourable to their agenda as possible.

As far as Russia and reconstruction - there's no real plot there. The fact is that democratic reform has more or less failed before it really started; and economic reform turned into a nightmare of a massive wealth gap and the complete lack of a middle class - an essential element to developing a stable liberal democracy (if such there is). Meanwhile, in a country that had a 20th century as awful as that, there isn't going to be a revolution for a long time. I wouldn't count on that at all.

So, I guess the question is "What to do about Russia?". That I don't know. Anything but a nuclear showdown, however!
The first step, I think, would be dispensing with the "Bad Guys" issue.