As an American kid of the 80’s, I was not too keen on Russians. Anybody who saw the movie Red Dawn had, at least, a discreet fear of Russia and the possibility of nuclear war. Real or imagined, President Reagan validated this fear in his speeches and the rest of the media described the typical Russian as cold hearted, secretive and untrustworthy. Does anyone remember Sting singing I hope the Russians love their children too?

In time, of course, I figured out that Russia wasn’t the only country with a bad rep. In 2001, long after the cold war had ended, I saw both Mikhail Gorbachav and former President Bush Sr. speak at a leadership conference. Gorbachav was funny, warm, and relatable. Frankly, I liked him better than daddy Bush who reminded me of Grumpy Old Man from that old SNL skit.

Anyway, today I Googled some stuff on Russia and I found this very interesting speech from Andrei Illarionov, Former Chief Economic Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation about Russians losing their freedom.

Here’s a bit:

First, there was an assault on the people of Chechnya. Many Russian people thought that it was not their business to defend the freedom of the Chechen people. People in Chechnya lost their independence, their political rights and—many of them—their lives. Many Russians lost their lives as well.

Then there was an assault on the Russian media…
Then there was an assault on private business…
Then there was an assault on the independence of political parties…
Then there was an assault on the independence of non-governmental and religious organizations…

Does the familiarity raise a red flag for anyone out there?

When you stare so long at yourself in the mirror you stop seeing what’s there. Is that happening to us? Is it happening to Russia?