[CliffFletcher]

There are degrees of propaganda, and there are degrees of credulity. The average American can be pretty ignorant about global affairs. But the susceptibility of Russians (and other citizens of autocratic countries) to outlandish conspiracy theories amazes me. Americans who believe the world trade centre attack was an inside job are regarded as whack-jobs. But similarly paranoid theories are common belief in Russia.

Media and public awareness may not be ideal in the West, but at least we have some traditions of skepticism, transparency, and legitimacy. Russia has never had a legitimate civil society, so all they have to fall back on times of crisis are nationalism and xenophobia.