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Worst case, I think a 5. As with other powers Russo-American bilateral relations have both competitive and collaborative aspects. Fortunately, the demise of Soviet communism and the end of the Cold War removed the most dangerous points of friction. The Russian military is a shadow of its former self and the Russian economy is scoliotic. Russia remains a formidable regional power and I would have preferred that it take a different direction domestically but it is no longer bent on world domination so it seems unfair, I think, to characterize it as an enemy.

It helps to understand that the long-suffering Russians are a great and proud people. As a state they have interests that sometimes clash with our own so conflict is inevitable. This is normal. Several generations of communism beat a lot of the initiative out of them so adapting to a new order of things has been difficult and many Russians remain unsettled by the dramatic socioeconomic changes they have endured, nostalgic for the superpower status they once enjoyed, and resentful of Westerners who misunderstand their history and denigrate their many sacrifices and accomplishments. Sometimes in foreign relations this manifests itself in intrasigence and, the power imbalance being what it is, low-level asymmetric efforts to divide and weaken us. All pretty predictable interstate behavior.

America does not help its cause when it affronts Russian sensibilities by practicing cultural imperialism (e.g., our embassy flying the rainbow flag earlier this week despite Russia's ban on gay marriage and disapproval of h*mosexuality generally). We freely interject ourselves into Russian domestic affairs but resent it if Russia reciprocates?!? Sometimes American hypocrisy knows no bounds! Also, Putin's appreciation for Russian Orthodoxy seems genuine so America's incomprehensible silence in the face of growing worldwide Christian persecution has resulted in Russia making noises about resuming its tsarist "defender of the faith" role. And America unquestionably erred by imposing sanctions over Russia's occupation of the Crimea - unseemly, yes, but the Crimea has been historically and ethnically Russian since the American Revolution and is crucial to Russian security as well. It was only administratively attached to the Ukraine in the 1950s as part of the complicated jockeying for power among Politburo factions in the aftermath of Stalin's death. I am far more concerned about Russian support for rebels in Russified eastern Ukraine.

Most important, Russia and America have shared if muted common interests. One is containing an increasingly aggressive and assertive China (probably in time-honored fashion the Chinese leadership simply needs some red-hot foreign devils to deflect attention from its domestic shortcomings but these things can spiral out of control - and much of today's sparsely populated and mineral rich Russian Far East was under Chinese suzerainty only a few centuries ago before it passed under Russian control as a result of "unequal treaties"). We also have a common interest in containing Islamofascism. It would be nice to see the needle move a little more towards collaboration and away from conflict in our bilateral relations...