I'm sure Russia is a fine place if you're not a journalist, particularly invested in the democratic process, gay or in any other LGBTQ group. Why, it's all worth it for smoking in pubs!

> For example you don't need to be politically correct (self-censoring) when expressing your private or political views.

Right.

What if your views are that homosexuality is not a crime you should be locked up for talking about?

Right. In Russia you can pretty much insult anyone as much as you like. Just hope they don't have a traumatic handgun on them.

Give me a break. Nobody moves back to Russia, because they are free to smoke at the pubs there.

I was also born in Russia and 3 years ago, I spent a year there. It is just as shit country as it has always been. Nothing changed. It's got some new paint on the facade.

I'm not sure China would care. They'd just become the second superpower (which, I would argue, they already are). Their economy is much larger than Russia's, their trade relations diverse (the US isn't even their #1 trading partner), their land more habitable (though smaller), their technology better, they have a large army and nuclear arsenal, and they're in an ideal location to put up significant resistance against US incursions.