Good comment. Another weakness of Western commentary: people write novels about what they'd _like_ to see happen in Russia, then submit them as the new baseline

Good comment. Another weakness of Western commentary: people write novels about what they'd _like_ to see happen in Russia, then submit them as the new baseline. (So much effort really, for nothing.) And if we've learnt anything, things in Russia never seem to turn out as one might _like_ them to.