I have bad news for you, tovarishch, it's either Western globohomo or Putin's neo-Sovietism. We're all hosed.
No, countries that chose to teach English as second language (instead of Russian and also like KZ change to Roman alphabet) and establish ties to EU instead of Russia have more financial opportunities and freedom down the road. It doesn't require globohomo.
If you know English and got visa-less travel, like Ukraine did post-2014, kids graduating with basic English skills, can pretty much work anywhere in EU, make awesome money (compared to Uki standard of living) make connections and friends in other EU countries with much higher standards of living. After a while, they all come back to their country with enough savings to start their own business, buy a house, raise family etc.
This is the reason why Vlad is adamant that Russian stays at very least as the second language in x-USSR space, it ties people to specific, shitty space.
Really? Seems to me that Ukraine went nowhere economically in the last 20 years or so. But I don't live there so alright.
Up 'til 2014 they were with Russia, so obviously that didn't help them a whole lot, did it? May be trading and working with the rest of the Western world would be better.
Also doesn't help that they spend big part of their budget rebuilding their military, thanks to "Russian brothers" who promised never to invade or covet their land.
Ukraine did get better financially since 2014, despite all the military expenses, not dramatically, but the trend is pretty solid.
I think Putin cares more about the long term survival of the Russian nation even if it costs relative economic prosperity for a long time.
Rofl ... then may be Putin should look after his own pensioners and countrymen in general. A country where wast number of households still use firewood to heat their houses despite abundant gas supply, fix their roads, stop closing factories ... but no, he is more concerned about making any other place in the world a shittier place than welfare of his own people.