I read broadly, thank you. My question about the USSR's collapse was sarcastic, I'm sorry it was lost on you. As regard to Chomsky, he is a brilliant scholar and deserves respect and deep consideration of his opinions. I do and I have. But that doesn't mean he's always right or cannot be examined. In this case I disagree with him. Life is nasty, brutish and short. Given Putin's long history, any deference to him is, I believe, dangerously naïve.