Where exactly is Russia heading? One school of thought argues that it will depend on whether the (new) Putin presidency will deliver. It is important not to generalize from the anti-Putin protests in Moscow to the rest of Russia. In March 2012, while Putin received 64% of the vote nationwide, he only received less than 50% in Moscow. While more people in Moscow are better educated and more liberal, the rest of the country may be more traditionalist. In Putin’s earlier presidency, he promised and largely delivered higher incomes and stronger stability. This time, Putin promised large pay increases for the military, teachers, and doctors (a promise that no American president has been able to make in recent times), and he is likely to deliver again. Another school of thought argues that despite its former superpower status, Russia has become a “normal” middle-income country. Democracies in this income range (think of Argentina in 1990 and Mexico in 2000 ) are rough around the edges. They tend to have corrupt governments, high income inequality, comcentrated corporate ownership, and turbulent economic performance. In all these aspects, Russia may be quite “normal”. However , these flaws are not necessarily incompatible with further political, economic, and legal progress down the road. At the end of day, despite the often negative reporting on Russia, big political risks, such as reverting back to the old soviet regime, seem reasonably remote. Putin has said reaeatedly: “one who does not regret the passing of the soviet union has no heart; one who wants to bring it back has no brain.”