Here's your challenge. Essentially, you need to find a way to take the reputation of Russia being a nightmarish frozen wasteland of authoritarian hell and turn it on its head.
What is the best possible scenario for the ideal Russia?
Russia should, ideally, be superior to the modern United States or Western Europe in terms of pleasantness to live, wealth, possible ecological sustainability, and so on.
The PoD must be somewhere after the Russo-Japanese War.