Open Borders Are Russia's Birthright

... watchtowers and other elements of medieval fortresses. Unfortunately, this maniacal endeavor to barricade oneself against the world outside (including next-door neighbors) is not only characteristic of suburban construction here. The history of the Russian state is also marked by periodic bouts of isolationism and fence-building. Again today, the Ukrainian crisis and economic sanctions from the West have instigated discussions of Russia's "self-sufficiency," about the benefits of "depending on one's own strength," the danger ...