[timka]

I was a teenager during the 90s in Moscow and share none of your sentiment.

Yes, we lost the Cold War. NATO won. Understood.

We got child prostitution, heroine epidemics, kids inhaling acetone vapors from glue to get hi in basements, together with so called 'democracy'. Also lost significant part of science and industry, free education and health care.

Something's terribly missing from you "harmony". Sorry, but this seems like ignorance.

[jacquesm]

That's mostly because it never was a true democracy but something closer to a kleptocracy.

Poland went through roughly the same process but came out much better simply because the Polish people weren't the aggressor, Russia was. And that's why they felt liberated and motivated to make a change. But Russia wasn't liberated, it's just that you exchanged one batch of fat cats for another. Democracy had nothing to do with it, that's just a tool in the box.

[timka]

I'm familiar with this point of view. I think maybe a third of Polish people share it, another third don't give a damn about Russians, yet another third think that it's vital for Poland to have healthy relationship w/ Russia. Even fore purely economical pragmatic reasons.

After the destruction of the USSR Poland became sort of a showcase. As a limitrof sitting in between Russia and Europe Poland can't afford always being pro-European or pro-Russian. It's being pro-Polish which means finding the right balance at the moment. Simply put, as long as Bruxelles has resources to support Poland Poland stays pro-European.

Seems like this year may be quite interesting in this regard.

[commodorepet]

A number of surveys has been done over the last few years and Polish people have a quite strong views on Russia, opposite to what you think.

In fact, we have the most unfavourable view on Russia in the world... 97% of Poles view Russia unfavourably [1]. There is a reason why Poland took on 1M+ Ukrainian refugees and continues to supply weapons and being major hub for American/European operations.

[1] https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/06/22/only-2-of-poles-view-...