This bit about Barack Obama’s limited reach in Russia comes from Masha Lipman:

The Kremlin keeps a firm grip on societal forces: Its concept of
civil society implies loyalty to the state and rules out genuine
autonomy. Those who dare defy the Kremlin vision may be tolerated, but
they are consistently marginalized. Assistance to such groups from
abroad is treated with high suspicion. Moreover, the West, and the U.S.
in particular, are viewed as a threatening force seeking to do harm to
Russia.

This dramatically hampers Russian development and leaves Russia
still farther behind the developed nations. A summit with Obama, and
his attempt to reach out to the Russian people, no matter how brilliant
or subtle, can hardly change this state of affairs. It is up to the
Russian people to change it, but they will have to overcome their
apathy and fragmentation. “Every country charts its own course,” Obama
said in his address to the students of the New Economic School. Russia
is no exception.

Last 5 posts by Robert Amsterdam

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