The biggest problem with this is that Russia's always been bloody huge and pre-modern institutions on a large scale, developed with modern technology inevitably end up being not too nice. Perhaps finagle the PODs so that Russia develops starting on Veliki Novgorodian lines, that is as a collection of aristocracies that becomes a somewhat inverted version of the USA (that is always feuding amongst itself over identity, bizarrely factionalized in very specialized ways, obsessed with military power but avoiding large-scale bloody wars, and rising because everybody else decides to conveniently self-destruct while proclaiming this testament to the inherent strength and power of its institutions just because).
But wasn't such size a rather large advantage for the United States in regards to things like resources? To be fair, Russia isn't quite as isolated, and I guess being so old doesn't help things.