Sochi’s message: Russia is a status quo power, while the United States is a revisionist power seeking to use the principles of democracy promotion and humanitarian intervention to force change on other governments around the world — including on Russia’s borders and in Russia itself. Internationally, this self-image translates into support for absolute sovereignty and not meddling in other countries’ domestic politics — at least in principle, if not in practice, when it comes to its own nearest neighbors, like Ukraine and Georgia