n increased anti-western sentiment being ushered in at about the same time the people were growing tired of Yeltsin. After 1992 Russia restated her power in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and recommitted to supporting them. Russia's involvement in NATO is also important.There have been questions about whether or not such a young developing nation should be allowed to join the group. Russia has consistently stated that she does not want any part in NATO expansion eastward (World Affairs, Summer99, Vol. 162 Issue 1, and p22). The addition of the newest members in NATO has been called the final proof that the West won the cold war. Many Russian leaders see the expansion of NATO as a threat to the security of the Russian State and perceive it as the West taking advantage of their temporary weakness. President Clinton said that he simply wants to help bring stability to Eastern Europe. The negative feeling about NATO expansion is that many Russians believe that the West is still fighting the Cold War (World Affairs, Summer99, Vol. 12, p. 22). This is not the case, but as we know perspectives influence the way people think about everything. So, perhaps the problem is that the Russian people are still "licking their wounds" from the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country is not doing so well and they are vulnerable right now. This may be the reason for the negative feeling. Whatever the cause, it is obvious that the Russians are withdrawing from the West more and more. They increasingly want to give attention to their former satellites and to the rest of Eastern Europe. EconomicsThe consensus tends to be that a capitalist system is yet to be established in Russia. There are many problems with the economy, but most important is the way privatization was handled. External buyers were completely excluded and Russia's development is uncertain which causes the level of foreign investment in industry to be kept incre...
