Johnx: yes, Russia’s financial transition during the Yeltsin years went badly. You argue this was because the West surrounded Russia with a conspiratorial cordon of hatchet men who stymied progress; I and many other observers would argue that this was because unlike some of its Eastern European neighbours, Russia declined to take sufficient responsibility for its own reform processes, and to this day has still not tackled some issues. A similar flavour runs through the other issues you mentioned, which can just as easily be explained without resorting to worldwide anti-Russian conspiracies. Consider simple logic: the West has neither a psychological need to dream up a world in which it is surrounded by enemies, nor any economic or political advantage if such a circumstance actually existed. Instead, its interests would best be served by a stable, democratic, prosperous, content Russia that trades amicably with it, and that joins with it in countering mutual threats from the radical crazies of this world. There is no point in making an enemy of Russia, nor even a resentful subservient. Many more resources could be applied to the benefit of many more people if Russia were a genuine partner and friend. Obviously “the West” is not a monolithic entity, nor is it uniformly enlightened nor angelic. But as its overarching interest is as I outlined, one would logically assume that its overall policy initiatives would have been pitched with precisely that in mind, and would have been revised only as Russian behaviour showed these to be inappropriate to prevailing realities. Russia appears to have a fairly fragile sense of its own security, and frequently finds offense and danger in matters where none is offered. It then (over)reacts, leading the West to change its policies to ones of greater wariness and caution. Which, in turns, leads Russia to see its original unwarranted reactions as justified to begin with.

@Marzipan6 It is NATO, EU and the US that are totally hostile towards Russia any actions Russia has taken with the exception of the Bronze statue incident in your native Estonia have been reciprocal t these actions Since the collapse of the USSR bombing and destroying the Serbs creating a conduit for the qworst forms of terrorism and organised crime directed and Russia and Eurasia. As well as installing through Soros and his Harvard allies economic shock therapy that delivered the Russian economy and nation into the hands of a non-Russian western aligned oligarchy laundering an estimated $1 trillion overseas, pushing NATO and encircling the country, threatening to launch pre-emptive first strike nuclear policy with the now stalled missile shield, taking Russian Intel and Russian created Northern Alliance from Russia after 9/11 on Afghanistan against the Taliban which the US created and propped up and worked with until 9/11 and stabbing Russia in the back by moving the terrorist from Afghanistan to the Panski Gorge in Georgia to fight in the South, installing anti-Russian in Ukraine and Georgia and launching proxy wars against Russia.