A perceptive article. Your reference to the treaty of Versailles and the rise of the Weimar republic are instructive of what we need to avoid. After a major conflict, there is always a desire by those who have been unjustly attacked to demand their pound of flesh and retribution. The problem is the continued humiliation of a defeated nation just creates internal resentment within that country unrelated to their culpability in the previous conflict. It creates fertile ground for the rise of figures like Hitler. To extract punitive concessions merely creates a cauldron for future conflict down the road.

A better solution is the one that was taken by the allies after the Second World War in rebuilding Germany and Japan. The result has been to create friendly relations and integrated economies to the mutual benefit of all. As hard as it may be, we need to suppress our instinct for revenge and look for a balanced way to collect reparations while allowing Russia to retain a sense of National dignity. It is the system that needs to change and be democratized. If the population is allowed to remain prosperous and productive, the country may finally become the good world citizen that was envisioned after the dissolution of the USSR during the leadership of Gorbachev. We were hopeful then for a better and brighter future for all. . Maybe this time the vision will become a long-term reality.