re: If Russia is such a shitehole run by a dictator

Powerman have you ever been to Russia?

Some cities like Saint Petersburg are nothing like most US cities. The Hermitage, the ballet, the palaces of the Czars. The people are very nice, the city impeccably clean, very safe. You can walk down the crowded streets at 1 in the morning in the summer with absolutely no worries, none, try that in the US.

Run by a dictator. Have you seen the govt that runs the US? Taxation without representation went out the window decades ago. The infrastructure is falling apart the country is being overrun by hordes that would make latter day Rome look tame by comparison. Crime is out of control, discrimination rampant and very blatant. The govt targeting anyone they view as not aligned with their beliefs rather true or not, simply due to their skin color and their support of the wrong politician. The media control would make Pravda blush. An education system that is more interested in indoctrination than education.

So get off your high horse and see that what the rest of the world sees, a dying dinosaur, the family silver has already been stolen, now the barbarians are stealing what is left of the furniture before heading to Europe and leaving your grandchildren with a debt that is insurmountable.