Well I appreciate you asking this question. I think that you are right to worry about the things you mention but they are not the driving forces behind what makes US and Russia fundamentally different. Yes, everyone wants to sell you something in the US - but at the end of the day, the choice to buy or not to buy is ultimately your own. In the US, people are free to seek out information outside of the immediate information bubble you are in, and often get confused due to abundance of information and choice. In Russia people are forced into that bubble by the ruling class and are confused due to lack information. The is a critical difference - if you get good at critical thinking, you can thrive in the US and have access to good quality information. If you get good at critical thinking in Russia - you get sent to jail. I think you would benefit greatly from understanding the historic context of the power struggle between the US and Russia and why the US is (mostly) the good guy. I think Road to Freedom by Tymothy Snyder is a really good read for this: https://smile.amazon.com/The-Road-to-Unfreedom-audiobook/dp/B077BHPFDL/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-oqdBhDfARIsAO0TrGG93Ljzkg1OdQs59-LaHkqOe6Rv-tCbVGFMlPrkYstZFYeH8ZJ9FMoaAtWlEALw_wcB&hvadid=409972340051&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031272&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8777157865672947537&hvtargid=kwd-825964301014&hydadcr=22537_11318393&keywords=the+road+unfreedom&qid=1671668395&sa-no-redirect=1&sr=8-1
Timothy Snyder si bok The Road to Unfreedom er ei utmerka kjelde til å forstå meir av ideologien og tankegangen som ligg bak Kreml sine handlingar og overordna strategi. Lydbokversjonen på Audible er lese av forfattaren sjølv.
Gaslit Nation med Andrea Chalupa og Sarah Kendzior er òg ein god podcast med mykje Ukraina-/Russland-relatert innhald, men ofte sett opp mot amerikanske politiske forhold.