Is Russia Really The Bad Guy?

There has been a resounding cry of support for Ukraine across the Western World in response to its invasion by Russia, but while many how concentrated on Russia’s belligerence, it’s been commonly overlooked precisely what has driven Russia to act as it has, with the most common explanations boiling down to mere one sentence claims that don’t quite grasp the Russian mindset. I’d like to preface this by saying this is not intended to condone Russia’s actions, nor justify or support the war, but rather is intended to provide insight into why Russia has resorted to initiating this conflict from their own perspective.

To understand the situation modern Russia finds itself in, we must first wind the clock back to the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia hastily and chaotically emerged from the ruins of the Union following internal divides in politics which saw the Union government and the governments of the individual Republics diverge. The leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Republics came together to sign the Belovezh Accords, effectively dissolving the Soviet Union, despite resistance from the overarching Soviet government and a popular referendum in favor of continued unity, however the government ultimately did concede, transferring executive control over Soviet assets to the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.

Yeltsin was initially a darling for the West. He was viewed by some as a great reformer that would democratize Russia, and bring it in line with Western policy, but reality proved different. Many Russians saw early-on…