[mtgx]

I don't think that many countries have anything to fear about Russia, even if they do spy on them. I think they have quite a bit to fear if US spies on them and their leaders. I'd be shocked if all that spying wasn't used to blackmail other country leaders in some way.

[ScottWhigham]

That's a lot of assumptions on your part that you are expecting us to buy into/believe along with you. Russia is the 8th-10th largest GDP in the world (depending on which list you read at what time) - they're hardly the "tiny nation that could not intimidate anyone else" that your post makes them out to be.