Historically, Russia's relationship with the West has been shaky at best. From the Crimean War in 1850 to the alienation following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been “under attack.” This forced them to adopt a mentality based on self-sufficiency and autarky. As Western nations attempt to strengthen democracy in Russia in the 21st century, Russia has responded negatively to these perceived “intrusions.” It is therefore important to ask what role the West should play in Russia's development and what prevents this from happening. In her book Russia: Lost in Transition, Lilia Shevtsova outlines two different ways the West can approach development with Russia: let them figure it out themselves, or patiently create an international environment in which Russians feel at home ease. Shevtsova clearly favors the latter option. Western involvement, however, is hampered by double standards, ideological differences, and the Russian people's negative perception of the West's motives. These need to be analyzed before showing how a cautious and assertive approach is the best way for the West to support Russian development. Both the United States and Russia gained new leaders around the turn of the century: George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin. Although relations got off to a rocky start, with both countries expelling foreign diplomats, Bush did not force Russia to make reforms. He instead focused on developing U.S. security interests, particularly involving terrorism after 9/11. This developed an “all take, give nothing” relationship with the United States reaping all the benefits. Shevtsova says: “We took Russia for granted… halfway through the document… Russia's development and the involvement of the West in this task. Russia must feel treated as if it were an important player on a global scale, and it is. If he feels he is being looked upon lightly, he will close himself off from the rest of the world and no positive changes will occur. This means that it is necessary to stop using Russia to increase the security needs of the United States, without any benefit to Russia. The West must recognize the differences in Russia and work around them to find a system that works for them. A realist approach is clearly not the answer as it only fuels negativity and does nothing to encourage Russia to resolve the internal problems hampering the country. If the West can engage productively with Russia, it will result in an era of cooperation that will be essential to solving the world's security problems..