So maybe it's like India (in a way). They have to clean up their own act before they can open up to the rest of the world. That's a good thing.
There are many things that terrorist state needs to clean up before they can open up to the rest of the world. How about accepting responsibility for MH17 downing, for a start? However, they just reelected their aging macho boss for another 6 years, so I see no significant "opening up", barring something drastic, in the near future. "In a 2016 exposé, Dissernet showed that 1 in 9 members of the State Duma had obtained academic degrees with theses that were substantially plagiarized and likely ghostwritten." 1 in 9 members of Parliament were caught with academic fraud. I think maybe 5 of them faced any consequences; vast majority didn't react at all and get to keep both high positions and bought degrees. One of the "heroes" of the initial Dissernet push was one Vladimir Burmatov, who was Vice Chair of Duma Committee on Education. He even earned a nickname "f### off burmatov", for many times this meme was used as response to his or his bots' posts on social media. He was found heavily plagiarizing his dissertation and lost the degree. However, apparently now he's the ruling party's Central Committee head and a Chair of Duma Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection. It's a mafia state. Truth be told, most post-Soviet countries could use major cleaning up on plagiarism. In Ukraine, the previous President was famous for both sporting a full set of research degrees and for being a sub-literate (nicknamed Proffessor, after one of many spelling errors in his job application for President, the first attempt) brute. It goes without saying his degrees were bought. However, the new President (way smarter, with impressive command of English - virtually unheard of for a Soviet-raised guy) rarely if ever mentions his own PhD in Laws. It was awarded when he was an active oligarch and politician, and the awarding institution is the notoriously corrupt Odessa Academy of Law, headed by the same guy who falsified the Presidential elections back in 2004. No one checked that work for fraud, but it was very likely ghostwritten as well.
These people bought their thesis from a thesis-writing service (complete with publishing requisite papers in "friendly" journals) and then bribed professors in their institutions to have worry-free "experience", "admissions" through "graduation". Most turned out to be cheapskates, too, as the ghostswriters didn't bother with much beyond plagiarizing from 1 to 3 sources and some lazy copy-paste and search-replace. It is an industry; it's grave mistake to normalize this mockery with "it's common everywhere". Also, if you look at the Dissernet site, they uncovered many, many plagiarism cases in academia in Russia, from university Rectors to petty department chairs and instructors. That lot can't afford ghostwriters, so they just plagiarize themselves. Meanwhile, I personally failed a person at a lowly for-profit UoPx sister school when he failed plagiarism check.
You might need to start with something easier . . . http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44252150?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
Admit Trump collusion? That'd also be a start lol My point is that currently, it doesn't seem like anything in Russia moves toward "opening up to the rest of the world". I just talked to someone back from vacation in Russia. She said it's "worse than North Korea". People live in their own world. She said it about her close relatives btw. Best scenario for Russia is this: oil price crash, massive economic meltdown, poverty, humanitarian aid from the West -> new perestroika. Essentially going back to 1991. Alternatively, the Fuehrer will keep starting wars until one day there's a big war. Defeat, Hague, administration by the occupying forces.
