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student, Journalism studies, Moscow Lomonosov University
They say, that Russia is losing the West. That Russia suffers from the absence of friends among other countries. They say that it's a problem. I don't really think, that the problem of "loosing the West" is a business of one man, of one russian politician. The grounds are different, and it's silly to think, that once someone pushed the button - and at once we became a lot of enemies and we lost the West.
Everyone should understand one thing. The country, that has such a big territory, as Russia has; the country, that is rich by a lot of minerals; the country that has a real nuclear power, - such a country must be doomed on envy of other countries. Her neighbours must be afraid of such a country. So, why should Russia be loved? Other coutries may avoid us because of our potentiall power (may be, this power is not always used properly, but we have it, - and West knows this!). One should keep in his mind at least, that we "feed" almost all Europe (and America as well) with our raw material and with our minerals. Ofcourse, we have less High-tech goods, as for example Japan has, but we have a big "army" of intellectuals, that besides significant prices win international acknowledgement and authority.
Yes, i can agree, that people from the West look at us as we were too strange. Some of them are really sure that we live in owr houses with bears ang drink "Vodka" instead water. Ofcourse these are stereotypes, but West really see too much contradictions of our life, that they cannot understand.
For example, the great break in positions of poor and rich people in our country. I guess, that partially is Yeltsin responsible for it. Everyone knows, what has happened in 90-th (that have already become an expression), when some of russian people in a moment became fantastically rich; those, who had nothing, instantly received all.
Ofcourse, noone on the West can understand our rich men, when they want to show, how rich they are, through their fabulously expensive purchases and their crasy behaviour abroad. Espetially strange it seems, when west people hear complaints of extremely poor russians. So they can understand nothing and that is why they at least try to avoid us.
