One curiosity for me is the incessant RUSSIANS!!! from the political left while bending over frontwise with hands clasping at ankles for the Chinese.

My perspective is exactly opposite in terms of likeability and tolerance and I just detailed my own visit to the USSR shortly before its collapse. My off-the-cuff take is that for whatever their shortcomings, Russians exhibit strength and the Chinese, femininity and groupthink.

It's a bit ironic because here in Thailand, there are lots and lots of Russians. Where I live in Rawai, Phuket—in a gated townhouse complex—I'm surrounded by them. On a personal level I dislike them uniformly; meaning, not a single exception. Nobody likes the Russians here.