My favorite McCain story is when he demanded Pravda give him an op-ed like the NYT did for Putin. Clearly that was the only Russian newspaper fossil had heard about.

Pravda was a bottom-tier tabloid – of the sort that are big on alien abduction stories – that very few read, and McCain duly got his op-ed there (“Russians deserve better than Putin“).

Here is my translation of Pravda.ru chief Vadim Gorshenin’s interview on this bizarre episode: https://www.unz.com/akarlin/vadim-gorshenin-mccain-looked-for-kremlin-mouthpiece/

Some Russians are impressed by this. By “some”, I mean about 0%, rounded to the nearest percentage point.

Honored to see @SenJohnMcCain and thank him for his support and his principled stand against dictatorships. Rare in the age of Realpolitik. pic.twitter.com/HBgChtAjJs — Vladimir Kara-Murza (@vkaramurza) March 27, 2017

Still, there’s always the professional oppositionists in London to show their appreciation.

Admittedly, McCain did have his fans in the Ukraine. Reaching levels cargo cultism that should not even be possible, the Maidanists made McCain a Presidential advisor – without telling him first.

As an incorrigible Russophobe, who saw no contradiction in meeting with Ukrainian Nazis while condemning Trump for “blood and soil” nationalism, the Maidanists had good reason to like him:

His regime may appear imposing, but it is rotting inside. His Russia is not a great power on par with America. It is a gas station run by a corrupt, autocratic regime. And eventually, Russians will come for Mr. Putin in the same way and for the same reasons that Ukrainians came for Viktor F. Yanukovych… … If Ukraine can emerge from this crisis independent, prosperous and anchored firmly in Europe, how long before Russians begin to ask, “Why not us?” That would not just spell the end of Mr. Putin’s imperial dreams; it would strip away the lies that sustain his rule over Russia itself.

… even if realizing his vision is quite beyond their modest abilities.