I'm asking because I don't know and would like to know, and don't want to admit it to anyone face to face.
They allowed the Macdonald's franchise into their country long ago, and Pepsi and Coca-cola, and Starbucks, and some other retailers, which seemed pretty friendly. But Biden decided to end it, for no reason because, you know, 'Russia Bad'. They'd rather have Russia as an enemy than as a friend. Same seems to go for every country in the world, except the Anglosphere, and at present, France. Not sure we should have blown up Germany's Nord Stream pipelines (3 of the 4).
A better way to put it is when did Russia decide it wanted to be the enemy of the "west"? That's the viewpoint of the U.S. Russia was a colonial power after WWII. When the USSR broke up, under Gorbachov, its colonies started to break away. Those colonies Russia failed to fully Russify like the Baltics, Poland, Germany, etc. quickly broke away. Others like Ukraine took more measured approaches. The U.S. actually encouraged some of Russia's former colonies to not break away - Google Bush Chicken Speech. Chicken Kiev speech - Wikipedia One of the first big turning points was when Putin's friends decided to make an enemy of Bill Browder. That's Putin going out of his way to make enemies. When Russia invaded Georgia, the U.S. went so far as to return the Georgian soldiers who were helping in Iraq unarmed. The U.S. did not give anything to Georgia. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, the U.S. did not give a single rifle to help Ukraine defend itself. This has been a very gradual decision on the part of Russians to cut ties to the west.
Sadly the Russians have a long history of dictatorships and aggression toward their neighbors. The Tsars got along with the rest of Europe. In fact like most of Europe, they were part of the royal family. Things changed after the Russian Revolution. One of the goals of communism is to spread it through the world. Once Stalin came to power, there was going to friction. Stalin aligned with the west to save his butt during World War II. Once the war was over, it was business as usual for Stalin, gobbling up as many nations as possible to enlarge his empire. Stalin was as bad as Hitler, but he had large country to control, and he was smarter. Ultimately Russian Communism fell because it’s economy failed. Its top down, brutal approach could not keep up with the much freer systems in the west. I hoped that the world would have a period of peace, but it didn’t last for long. Putin took control of Russia, and his policy has been to recreate the Soviet Union and start up the Cold War again. If he ever defeated the United States, he’d go after China, just like old Soviet leaders did. The reason why the Chinese invited Nixon that was to enlist the U.S. as a temporary ally against Russia. Now, of course, Putin is “the small guy on the dictator block” and China no longer fears them. Russia is a troubling mix of brutality, dictatorship and nationalism. I’ve pretty much given up any hope that it will ever improve,
So the present day Russian Federation is just like the USSR under Stalin was. From what I've heard in real-life conversations, that is what most Americans believe. And the bit about Putin being the same height as Napoleon and therefore wanting to conquer all of Europe. Putin is taller than Napoleon but the same height as Zelensky.
I can think of several salient reasons why the U.S. State Department views Russia as an adversary, which include the following, noting that of these, probably the first three are the main points of contention: Geopolitical Conflicts: The U.S. and Russia have conflicting interests in various regions, including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Russia’s actions in Ukraine, particularly the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support for separatists in Eastern Ukraine, have been major points of contention. Election Interference: The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the aim of undermining the electoral process, increasing political discord, and, according to some assessments, helping the campaign of Donald Trump. Military Posturing and NATO: Russia views the expansion of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) towards its borders as a threat to its security. In response, Russia has increased its own military activities and posturing, which the U.S. and NATO allies view as aggressive and destabilizing. Putin wants to restore the old Soviet Union, not to socialism, but to return the Ukraine, Poland, the Baltics and all the '-stan' countries back to the Russian fold, of which a number of these countries are NATO now, and this is the heart of the conflict. Cyber Operations: The U.S. has accused Russia of engaging in malicious cyber activities, including cyber espionage, attacks on U.S. infrastructure, and spreading disinformation. These activities are seen as attempts to undermine U.S. security and interfere in domestic affairs. Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. has criticized Russia for its domestic human rights record, including the suppression of free speech, the targeting of political dissidents, and restrictions on media freedom. Murdering of journalists. These actions are viewed as contrary to democratic principles and international human rights standards. (Apparently this alone wouldn't do it, because the same could be said of Saudi Arabia, who are not seen as adversaries). International Law Violations: Russia's actions in Syria, its support for the Assad regime, and its role in other international conflicts have been criticized by the U.S. for violating international laws and norms, particularly regarding human rights and the use of force. Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: Disagreements over arms control treaties and non-proliferation efforts, including the suspension and eventual withdrawal from treaties such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, have contributed to tensions.
