Thanks Benjamin for the article. I’ve worked and traveled quite a lot in Russia and Ukraine and I’ve generally felt more at home there than in the USA. Russians have to deal with real problems and are usually quite grounded in family life; US citizens on the other hand whine constantly about trivial things and use TV sitcoms as a weak substitute for meaningful human interaction. Furthermore I’ve met babushki who are more adequately informed about the world (despite the constant barrage of propaganda from Kremlin-controlled media outlets) than any US citizen I’ve ever met. It’s just a shame that Eastern Europe continues to suffer from 73 years of Soviet malfeasance that’s resulted in endemic corruption and a general sense that brutal autocrats are the best one can hope for. But at least Russians are aware that they live in totally corrupt countries; US citizens are so clueless they genuinely think they live in a land of “the free and the brave,” which would be absolutely hilarious were the consequences not so dire for everyone concerned.