In Moscow's Shadows 163: The Importance of Optimism (even when it comes to Russia)

I spin off two recent books, Elena Kostychenko's, I Love Russia. Reporting from a lost country and Sergei Medvedev's A War Made in Russia, both of which are excellent in their own terms, but also demonstrate something of a tendency for Russian intelligentsia to despair at their own country and people and fixate on the very worse. This is perhaps understandable but, as I suggest, neither accurate nor helpful as an influence on Western policy.

The Chicago Council report I mentioned is here, the OpenMinds report here. The interview with Evgeny Stupin is here, and REM's twitter handle is @russian_monitor

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