I've always been impressed by Russia's ability to remake itself. From Peter the Great's titanic efforts to modernize the country over how the country came to span two continents to the october revolution and then the dissolution of the union, it seems that few countries have the penchant for abrupt change Russia has.

I've been wondering about this. On one hand, there are these astonishing changes, and on the other, we're sitting in a pit of inner unrest while remaining stoically calm on the outside, coping with all the crap we're put through without taking action. How come? It's not like we don't have examples of such changes - you've listed plenty of the major ones. I used to think that it's so because life is crap enough to complain about (low wages, high prices, low culture, bad job market situation etc.) but not crap enough to inspire doing something about it (people aren't killed or abused regularly, wages are livable, air polution we don't have much info about to do something with, so on), but now I'm not sure about this. I'm not an educated politician or sociologist, so this is me stabbing in the dark.

For a time, a few years ago when Putin just got into power, things were starting to look up.

In-country, as well. I remember seeing our newly-repaired yard (in Russia, five-storey houses often share a yard much bigger than what a single house in the US has) and wondering that, for all the complaining, we've got some good going our way from the government. The yard was a mess beforehand - terribly-broken roads (google "дороги в россии" and go to the images section), overall chaotic layout, no zone for children - and has become a well-done area where the above-mentioned traits are reversed. Yay, United Russia! (which is the main political party in the country, claiming to have supported the work) Since then - only seemingly incremental changes, as far as I know.

Thank you for sharing your point of view! I wonder if you have any other kind of perspective to share about Russia. I presume that you've been over, considering your negative experience with the Hermitage queue. How did it feel? Why did you come to Russia, if you don't me asking?