So Putin has clearly not opted to make Russia a tame junior partner of the West. But one wonders by what right the West expected any such thing? Today's Russia is a long comedown from the mighty Soviet Union. Its gross national product is almost laughable, and its population is actually declining. Alcoholism is nearly as ubiquitous as the common cold. But it still boasts an enormous landmass, and its has a centuries-long history of authoritarianism which seems to suit much of the population better than the kind of unfettered democracy President Bush thinks the whole world is longing for.
I suggest that we stop trying to force Russia into a Western mold for which it is wholly unprepared. In the long run -- by which I mean several decades -- Russia's attention is sure to be drawn ever more forcibly to the growth of China, with which it shares a 4,000-mile border. As China grows, prospers, and expands its military, the vast spaces of Siberia and other parts of eastern Russia are bound to look appetizing. Russia, even if its population stops shrinking, will be no match for it. Where can it look for allies and protectors, if not to the West? And the West, led by the United States, will have its own profound reservations about the expansion of Chinese power.
In the long run, therefore, the "problem" of Russia will solve itself. Meanwhile, we will just have to get accustomed to a Russia that bears very little resemblance to a New England town meeting.