[account73466]

>> I thought openness to modern/popular media would have knocked down a lot of misinformation about "the west".

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about Russia as well. Practically, 99% of all articles are negative in one way or another. The same happens with China. It used to be the same about Japan in the 80ies. People tend to think that they are able to properly assess inputs but they can't, they consume what is given and praise their masters in a highly predictable manner.