There have been several cases of the former Soviet Army officers have been caught in allegedly spying activities in favour of the Nato countries. Curiously enough, some NGO's of extra-Russian origin actively defend these people as activist of ecologist organisations. The economic considerations also provide sufficient grounds for the Western countries' preoccupation which can be cured, as they probably see it, only by military means. There is no single economist in the Western countries who does not express worries about the state of the Western economy. Growth in Europe is faltering, with unemployment at politically menacing levels.
Japan is in the state of stagnation, with unprecedented levels of unemployment.
The countries that have for half a century been called developing world are prostrate. Despite America's posing as the strongest ever economy all serious economists recognise that behind all of the optimistic interpretations of the Dow Jones indicators there lurks a parasitic casino type activities which cannot continue for ever. The U.S. economy, according to Clinton, is booming, but the real wages in the 1990s are down compared with 1980s. Politician don't know what to do about it. The hedge fund managers who a couple of years ago seemed to be running the show don't have a clue.