No, I'm implying that there was a sensitive period in Russia's history where it could have been influenced for the better, and it was influenced for the worse.
Influenced how? How would monetary influx help Russia become more democratic?
I didn't say "monetary influx." There was plenty of money flying at Russia, it was just flying at things Western businesses thought could make them money. Things did not go well. If the West-East postwar conversation and focus had been people to people, instead of CEO-to-nomenklatura, the people on both sides would have done better. lend/lease. Small business. Security for dissidents. All these "Western" values we've always lorded over everyone else - we did nothing to help them thrive in the ashes of the USSR. What we did was try to make a buck. Results went as expected.
Hm. Any reading on it that you could recommend?