"Americans are woefully uninformed about the world. Most people have no clue how Russia has worked behind the scenes to influence European politics by actively buying media outlets, supporting right wing groups financially, and sowing general distrust of Western institutions. Had the Soviets been half as smart as Putin is, it might have been capitalism that lost the battle of ideas in the late 20th century. The Soviet Union was never able to so effectively ignite the proletariat in the Western democracies as Russia does today, and with relative ease."