At least talking about Putin, that jerk and his family (both actual and “family”) created most of the lies, propaganda and war in the ex-Soviet space themselves. Starting right with year 1991 (Yeltsin had a different public image, but it was one team), hijacking a honest democratic movement, breaking what institutions limiting them USSR still had (under democratic excuses), and making every regional conflict a thorn in its body, either hard to remove or fulfilling their goals when removed. Consummating their achieved right to answer legal arguments with cannons in 1993, their achieved right to arbitrarily wage war on their compatriots in 1996, and their achieved right to kill anyone they don’t like in 1999. They literally rule Russia as an occupied country, they even live mostly abroad.
So by 2000 Russia was already deep in shit. Dunno about USA.
At least talking about Putin, that jerk and his family (both actual and “family”) created most of the lies, propaganda and war in the ex-Soviet space themselves. Starting right with year 1991 (Yeltsin had a different public image, but it was one team), hijacking a honest democratic movement, breaking what institutions limiting them USSR still had (under democratic excuses), and making every regional conflict a thorn in its body, either hard to remove or fulfilling their goals when removed. Consummating their achieved right to answer legal arguments with cannons in 1993, their achieved right to arbitrarily wage war on their compatriots in 1996, and their achieved right to kill anyone they don’t like in 1999. They literally rule Russia as an occupied country, they even live mostly abroad.
So by 2000 Russia was already deep in shit. Dunno about USA.