The US became the US after all the events that you mentioned, I’d say that after 1865. As I said, Russia has been on the same quest of finding insurmountable n

The US became the US after all the events that you mentioned, I’d say that after 1865. As I said, Russia has been on the same quest of finding insurmountable natural borders that would have defined for it for good, but geography doesn’t help it. And during that quest it also tries to re-define itself in order to reach its final form, so to speak, again, much as red US had done.