The kindness of strangers

摘要

TO MOST PEOPLE shaped by the cold war—and today's icy relations—Russia and America may seem always to have been sworn enemies. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 America celebrated victory. When Vladimir Putin set out to avenge history and make Russia great again, he whipped up anti-American hysteria and scorned Washington's overreach. For his part, Donald Trump—who thinks America has in the past been a soft touch—in effect concurred with Mr Putin's criticism, pledging to put narrow American interests first.