It was xenophobic because it said something nasty (edit: and completely non-factual) about an entire country. HN has plenty of readers in Russia and they have the same right to civil discourse here that everyone else does.
What if there are things you may consider nasty that might also be true?
I've read pg's "what you can't say", I know you're supposed to entertain this idea to yourself and shut up about it so you don't get caught in wars you don't want to wage all your life. But this time I think it's important for readers to know that war is actually going on.
Your comment was off-topic and uninteresting. It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, or that it's some dude's (i.e. your) opinion. It's about as enlightening as a banana. Don't pretend this is about some minutia of phrasing, either.
I fail to see how it is off-topic, since Stalin's heirs were the first (widely known) nomenclature children to skip Russia, but far from last.
If we're not counting the White Emigration, of course, since it's obvious that Tzar's heirs and kin live in the West too. Some took the Eastern route, of course, via China, but end up in civilized world.
China has history almost as tragic as Russia does.
First their country was divided, then it was partially conquered by Japanese, then it was struck by civil war, lost some territories (Mongolia, Tyva), divided again (Taiwan), suffered under Mao and then lived in poverty and lack of human rights (one child policy) while building its economy.
I doubt anyone will argue that this was the place to go at the time.