This is a nice article and perspective on Russia. I do disagree on at least one major point. When the next crises comes to Russia Putin will not settle for another economic collapse. He will will move Russian forces into the Middle East to take a spoil as spoken about in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39.
American Thinker: The Trouble with Russia
While the Putin regime means short-term trouble for us, it also means that another long-term tragedy is looming for the Russian people. Once again, they are living in a police state. Even now, the Kremlin is busily re-building the dreaded Gulag and packing it with Russians whose only crime has been to oppose Putin or to speak out publicly against the dictatorship he and his cronies are tightening every day. And If you’re wondering why Russia has squandered the historic opportunity it had to join the civilized world when the Soviet Union collapsed back in 1991, the answer is depressingly simple: Countries are like people; some learn from their mistakes and move on, while others keep making the same mistake over and over again.
