> but there was a monumental improvement in economic relations after the Soviet Union collapsed, no?

No. None of the sanctions levied against the USSR were lifted and still technically apply to Russia. (Enforcing them is another matter.)

> I don’t think any leader of any country wants to end up like North Korea

North Korea is doing better than South Korea on every metric except "consumer goods availability" and "international relations". Not sure you're making your case here.

> ...or Iran

Iran is more modern, developed and free than any other middle eastern country. (That includes Israel.)

Your ideas are wildly out of sync with actual reality.