I'm really curious about a few things. My comments will be pushing back on yours, but I'm going to do so with respect and honest inquiry.

First, since you have lived in Russia for over two decades, I want to ask about something I learned in a Russian History and Politics class back in college in the early 1990s (and, forgive me, the memory is hazy not just because of the years but because there were many green leaves smoked by me in those days):

My teacher was from Bulgaria and had NO love lost for the Soviets and Russia; he emigrated to the US as soon as he could. That said, he taught us that deep in the Russian psyche is a distrust of the West based, in some part, on historical experience. The two main ones that he brought up were the invasion of Napolean and the invasion of Hitler. I know in the latter, Hitler betrayed a treaty and I believe in the former, that Russia at least had a feeling that they were going to be accepted into the European culture.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on this. Is this true?

This is NOT to justify Putin's invasion. Rather, the thing I found lacking in your article is what I'm calling for here: I don't see much attempt to empathize with the psychology of "the other side." I'm a person who has described myself as a Leftist all of my life, yet over the past several years, I've made friendships with many people who supported Trump (some still do) and to paint anyone who supports him as a fascist, incapable of thinking, well, it goes against the expereince I've had being friends with these people.

In addition, I often feel like both the Left and the Right are, with their hyperbolic politics and statements about the other side, creating the very circumstances that your article seeks to avoid.

Anyway, I put a lot at you there so will leave it there and thank you for taking the time to read this and for writing your article.