Three ex-Soviet republics joined the European Union and NATO, asserting their desire not only for democracy and prosperity, but also to avoid being part of Russia ever again. By moving to annex Crimea, Putin, supported massively – thus far – by domestic public opinion, seems to be ending the post-imperial frustration of the past two decades.
戈尔巴乔夫的情绪在俄罗斯受到广泛的认同。1991年苏联解体后，俄罗斯就从超级大国降格为穷乡僻壤。三个前苏联共和国加盟欧盟和北约，公开宣布他们不仅要实现民主和繁荣，还要避免以后再落入苏联的魔爪。普京吞并克里米亚之举迄今为止受到国内舆论的强大支持，似乎为前20年后帝国时代的无奈画上了句号。