If America was tentative during the Yeltsin ascendency, it was because we, like the Russians themselves, were flabbergasted by what was happening. The mighty, implacable and disciplined Party was falling apart like a cheap suitcase.  I can remember some commentators during the Glasnost era claiming it was all a trick by the Bolsheviks to get us to disarm, although after the 72-hour Coup even the greatest skeptic had to admit defeat. I see similar skepticism over the Arab Spring, perhaps with more reason.

As to Tienamin Square, our hopes were raised by the experience of the Soviet Collapse. Unfortunately, the Chinese Party  was also watching CNN, and did not let matters get beyond their control.

Maybe during Yeltsin's ascendancy everyone was "flabbergasted", but two or three years in someone in America's government should have come up with some way to pull Russia into America's economic orbit. But neither Bush 41 nor Clinton cared enough to do anything bold.

Unrepentant neo-cons should be enjoying Arab Spring revolutions. Didn't Bush 43 predict this would happen when he invaded Iraq? I still don't know how it will all shake out, though, with everything still in flux. Most likely, "moderate" neo-Islamist governments will take over in much of that region, perhaps tied to Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

I think China's middle class revolution may come within ten years.

I return to my theory that whenever some country's economy has done well enough to turn much of its population middle class, western-style bourgeois democracy won't be very far behind.

The leaders of Singapore, Qatar, Kuwait, & the UAE might have a slightly different opinion.

but when Russia actually did throw off Communism, American reaction was tentative, more confused than excited, even though that revolution basically ended decades of Cold War antagonism.

I seem to recall the reaction being tentative, then excited and hopeful, then it becoming increasingly clear that Russia was still Russia - complaints about NATO expansion, backing up Milosevic in Yugoslavia, etc.

Microstates run by ultra-rich businessmen or sheiks might be different, although I think that eventually those countries may come around too.

"Russia was still Russia" after America made no special effort either to prop up Russia's currency or economy in time of crisis, let alone offer any sort of "Marshall Plan", and after America's basic response to Soviet collapse was to try to take maximum advantage of Russian weakness in Europe.

Much of our establishment viewed Nazism positively as well.

That's not the case.