But, Russia is changing, albeit for the worse at the moment. Isolation is giving way to education and information. The World Wide Web will be Russia's interstate highway system. There is an inevitability about economic reconstruction but as of May 1997 Russia has not yet hit bottom nor is its government democratic or representitive of its electorate.
Law is still an instrument of oppression of the oligrachy.
As of yet, Russia does not believe in its potential prosperity. Like a parasite it consumes itself from within. In that sense patience is required, but not tolerance. It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. In the final analysis Russia ultimately has no place else to go but up, and won't be able to avoid it, after it hits bottom.