Good Question: Why Aren't The U.S. & Russia Friendly?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The relationship between Russia and the U.S. has certainly changed over the decades. From the Soviet Union during the Cold War to a thaw in relations in the 1990s to Senator Mitch McConnell saying Monday, "The Russians are not our friends."
So, why aren't the U.S. and Russia friendly? Good Question.
"It's important to understand why Russians like to have a stable state and why that's embodied by Vladimir Putin," says James Von Geldern, chair of the Russian studies program at Macalester College.
He says people should look back to the 1990s after the Russian state collapsed. There was poverty, corruption and chaos. He said Russians blamed the Americans for their money and advice during that time on how to transition to a capitalist economy.
"It was bad advice, a lot of it by people who knew a lot in theory, but didn't really know Russia," he says.
During this time, relations between the U.S. and Russia were thawed. Von Geldern credits much of that to President Boris Yeltsin. He had a good relationship with the U.S., but not with the Russian people. He ultimately resigned in 1999.
"He did what the American government wanted him to do, and then they got a president in place who wasn't going to do that," says Von Geldern.
Ultimately, Vladmir Putin centralized the Russian government and stabilized Russia to the strongest it's been in years. His tactics have been widely criticized by Americans politicians. Senator John McCain referred to Putin as a "thug, murderer and killer."
Von Geldern wouldn't call Russia an enemy of the U.S., but rather a non-friend. He says the U.S. isn't actively fighting against them in Syria or the Ukraine, but wants them to stop taking actions there. He also points out the two countries have few very common political or economic interests.
"If it isn't a threat, it's a matter of mischief," says Von Geldern. "The Russians can get up to mischief, they can beat up small and weak neighboring states, they can hack into our computer systems and since they feel that they're not being given the respect and attention that they deserve that's a good way to get that attention."