The United States of America owes credit for its birth in the 18th century and its survival during the Civil War to an unlikely source: Russia.
That narrative has taken hold in some circles inside the former Soviet Union, and it’s a viewpoint recently espoused by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This month, Mr. Putin went out of his way to highlight historical examples of what Moscow’s state-run media called “Russia’s contribution to U.S. statehood.”
