Did this actually happen?
If you choose to define central European Slavs as non-Slavic, sure, that makes sense.
It would be ideal from this perspective, then, if these Soviet successor states followed the trajectories of Poland. The problem with this idea is that Poland had incentives--an identification with western Europe, for instance, and an official rejection of the previous Communist past--that made its rapid and reasonably successful integration with the West possible. Is there any prospect of a similar renunciation of Communism and its methods in Russia? Was there?
For the most part the former soviet sphere was ignored, except in notable cases of arms control and Chernobyl and the space industry.
Basic western policy was to not interfere but not help in ways that would strengthen Russia.
I don't include the Baltics or Poland as they were never "RUSSIFIED" the Baltics didn't want to be a part of the Soviet Union and bailed every chance they got.
Moscow, Minsk, Kyiv would have to do lots of work and compromise as would the west to integrate and make things work. Even today old animosities keep the sides oceans apart. Bridging that gap would start with good will and showing the people ( not just the governments, but the people a clear open path to "better lives" ( TM (C) bullshit mumbo jumbo department )
Clearly putting down the gun and effectively aiding and helping in the transition with advisors, helping to promote and maintain rule of law, collecting revenue, slowly transitioning the economy and protecting the older workers, bailing water from the sinking ship would go an awful long way.
one does not build a relationship overnight when both parties spent 67 years as crazy rivals.
but we can see today that the approach taken OTL has not born a lot of fruit on the productive tree of mutual understanding and "democracy" ( again ( TM (C) bullshit mumbo jumbo department ) on both sides
fairly certain these states wanted to follow that path, however with the economic implosion and resulting depression were horrific for the average Russian. and whilst Putin takes credit, it was the reformers pre putin who actually made the ship right again as the economy was recovering pre Putin election and trended up through his term.
Speed up the process, Lessen the depression, lessen the pain and someone like putin might not attain office, or if he does he serves his terms and exits. Achieve constitutional rule of law, limit the ability for corruption, create transparency so the treasury and nation can not be plundered.
while the west didn't help, the Russian government did the rest of the damage to themselves struggling to understand western capitalism in a trial and error vodka induced learning curve.
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