A natural experiment: Narva vs Ivangorod

[timelets]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/world/europe/narva-estonia-ivangorod-russia.html

Even stalwart Russian patriots in Narva concede that, despite their support for Mr. Putin and their anger at Estonian citizenship rules that they say discriminate against Russian speakers, they have no desire to move over the river to Ivangorod.

Institutions matter. There's nothing genetic about Russia's backwardness.

for the link h/t fizzik