http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/us/politics/russia-election-hacking-sanctions.html
Russia does not offer the sort of global military threat posed by the Soviet Union.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/newsflash-russia-not-the-soviet-union-18884
Mit Bauernschläue und animalischer Erotik stieg der Wandermönch Rasputin zum mächtigen „Mann Gottes“ des Zaren Nikolaus II. auf. Ein amateurhaftes Komplott machte dem am 30. Dezember 1916 ein Ende.
Conservative fiscal and monetary policies, plus an autocrat’s ability to impose austerity measures, keep Russia afloat where the Soviet Union sank
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-putins-economy-survives-1483020001
http://www.fronda.pl/a/andrzej-talaga-dla-frondy-gazprom-nie-bedzie-monopolista,84558.html
http://www.globalaffairs.ru/global-processes/Rossii-pridetsya-imet-delo-ne-s-intellektualami-18524
http://www.bbc.com/russian/news-38464443
https://republic.ru/posts/78012