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Russia
While we are on the topic, and talking about how reform and treating your people well keeps your best and brightest, let's talk Russia. I am deeply disappointed in Russia and frankly quite surprised at their total lack of progress since the end of the Cold War. This is a society where chess is a big time sport and smart people are well respected. Teachers and professors are well thought of.
The Cold War ended, it looked like we were making progress and developing some mutual trust. We both face major problems from Islamic radical terrorists. Yet, now that oil prices have gone back up and put money back into their economy, their level of freedom and reforms have eroded. I was quite shocked that someone didn't set up some huge engineering firms or software development companies in Russia since the Cold War ended, but that didn't happen. Yeah, they have some (legit) nuclear technology exports, and do collaborative work on aerospace projects and such, but it looks like rising oil prices have stifled the rise of a white collar, free and prosperous Russia. As of now, about the only things people buy from the Russians are oil, their weapons, and their nuclear reactors (in that order of preference).
How is Russia spending the revenues they are getting off oil taxes (and, well, all the other money they get from oil)? They are rearming their military. I recently saw they are buying 50 new Topol-M ICBMs, 50 jet bombers, and 31 warships. They are also modernizing 40 tank, 97 infantry and 50 parachute battalions. Did they not get it when we didn't nuke them from 1991 to now that we weren't going to? There was an extensive period of time when Russia had effectively NO nuclear deterrence. There was a period of time when all of their submarines were stood down (after the Kursk incident), and their land based early warning system was totally hosed until quite recently. They were wide open if that were our true intention.
So what does this rearmament mean? Don't they get it that they could invest that money into their infrastructure and be a real world class power economically and technologically, and only a second rate (at best) military power?
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