It has become quite difficult to envision any real advance in relations with a country that is so invested in portraying the other as an enemy.  That has certainly been the case for Russia, as the state propaganda has never tired of portraying the nation as a besieged fortress, threatened from all sides by enemies eagerly awaiting invasion.  As pointed out in a recent analysis by friend and colleague John Lough of Chatham House, the political importance of portraying the West as an enemy has even become confused over a recent decision by the United States to withdrawal part of its anti-ballistic missiles program in Poland and Romania which Russia had bitterly opposed.  Instead of feeling pleased, victorious, or satisfied, Russian officials were upset by the news.

Here’s a snip from Lough’s argument:

Despite the aggressive vilification of the US through state media over the past year, it seems that the rhetoric of anti-Americanism is having less impact than a decade ago. The condemnation of the West by Russia’s leaders after NATO’s use of force over Kosovo in 1999 had a powerful and lasting effect on Russian public opinion. But this occurred before the take off of the internet in Russia, when state media held an even more influential position.