Throughout the 20th century, Russia tried to influence politics in Western countries, including the United States.  It did so by subsidizing local communist parties and non-communist left-oriented organizations.  It's interesting that today's Russia chooses the right rather than the left as its point of entry for western subversion.  But why not?  The right has always had a tendency to authoritarianism, dogmaticism and anti-intellectualism.  Free inquiry, disturbing ideas, and unconventional lifestyles have always been anathema to it.  Russia has always shared these characteristics (though with certain qualifications, which I will discuss if anyone mentions them), before communism, during communism, and after communism.  Quite simply, the ingrained Russian worldview, like Trump's, is not compatible with American traditions of liberty, equality and civic amity (our term for "fraternity").