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In Russia, at least the trains run on time.

Actually, at least the Russians have trains.

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As the U.S. Congress passes more sanctions against Russia and the world gears up for another war of words between the two former super-powers, it is worth examining what the conditions inside Russia are actually like. Particularly because, for Canadians, there are a whole set of surprises.

In a journey from south to north of Russia, it is clear that this is not 1989. Russia is not a shambling post-Communist state full of the impoverished. The stores are full. There are shopping malls. You can buy IKEA furniture.

Nor is it 1999, when Russia was a mafia-dominated shooting gallery where the streets were full of pot-holes, drunks and dead bodies.

Russia, Version 2017, is a modern, relatively thriving country.

This is not to say Russia has no problems. The country still has one of the worst rates of inequality for an industrialized country. There is a trail of unsolved murders of journalists, human rights workers and opposition politicians.