Russia isn't the bad guy you've been led to believe it is

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/russia-isnt-the-bad-guy-youve-been-lead-to-believe-it-is-20170106-gtmzvc.html

• January 9 2017 | The Sydney Morning Herald

Russia isn't the bad guy you've been led to believe it is

Tom Switzer

What is it about Russia that winds everyone up so much? Why all the anger, the endless barrage of alarmist rhetoric and ruthless drive to isolate a great power with a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons?
From left to right, hyperventilating pundits and politicians warn that the Bear is on the prowl and that Vladimir Putin is the saboteur of American democracy.  As a result, they have spread exaggerations about the Russian threat, which have fuelled hatred and sowed misunderstanding.

US Republican Senators criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Obama administration prepared to announce a series of retaliatory measures against Russia for hacking the US election.

I am no Putin apologist. The thuggish Russian leader commands near-absolute political dominance at home. Nor do I defend the Russian-backed rebels who badly mishandled the MH17 Ukraine plane-crash controversy in 2014. http://www.smh.com.au/comment/russia-isnt-the-bad-guy-youve-been-lead-to-believe-it-is-20170106-gtmzvc.html