Sane people do not want to put nuclear weapons along the border of Russia or continually provoke Russia in the Ukraine. Most here are not "defending" the authoritarian nature of Russia. They are just against poking the bear. Frankly, we have no more business militarizing the area around Russia than Russia has business militarizing Mexico or Cuba against us. We have no more business sailing warships by the black sea than Russia has sailing warships in the gulf of Mexico or the coast of the USA. Russia need not be our enemy, but the left seems to want to make them the enemy.

On the subject of "authoritarian Russia", though, perhaps you should take a good look in the mirror. We are in many ways worse off than they are. At least Russia does not brainwash their children with LGBT degeneracy, or create a system of institutionalized racism against their own people (affirmative action, racial SAT bonuses for college admission, etc...). The government of Russia is not actively working to demonize and replace their own people. Meanwhile, ours wages war on white people and seeks to replace them with third worlders.

I have far more in common with the average Russian than I do with the average zombified leftist in the USA.