It's an interesting way of putting it. Russia's truly lagging way behind on issues that seem to me, a liberally-minded person who took in a disproportionate amount of US culture, to have an obvious and easy solution. Homosexuals? Who gives a shit whom you want to have sex with? Why should it matter to anyone but the person in question? And yet, I get to hear "Well, they'll teach [the kids] something or something..." ("А то научат ещё [детей] чему..."). And so on. Sometimes, it's just ridiculous, but seeing how views were used to be dictated by the very conservative kind of people in charge for so long (let alone the whole history of absolutism), one would wonder how would such people be capable of thinking critically well enough to prosper socially. What makes Russia an important player? Is it solely the nuclear arsenal?when the wall came down, held 19th century ideals but had to face 21st century norms
while also being an important player in modern geopolitics.