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The great drama of Russian history has been between its state and society. Put simply, Russia has always had too much state and not enough society.

There is an enormous difference between Russia and Western Europe.

In a strange way, I expected Russia to become more like America since the Soviet Union collapsed, but the reverse is true. America has become more like Russia: a kleptocratic society.

Russia is not a friendly character on the world stage.

I thought that in general we in the United States were too optimistic in believing that the Soviets might alter what had been for a long time, as a matter of fact for centuries, fundamental Russian policies in respect to the rest of the world.

Russia is tough. The history, the land, the people - brutal.

In my view, Russia has not been a particularly collaborative player on the world stage.

In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.

Russia has always had a global history. Global history is a bummer. You suffer invasions of all different kinds. And Russia was not defended against them.

Georgia does not need Russia as an enemy.