So you don't think that Russian authorities mining is as bad as Chinese miners potentially being under the authorities' influence?
No. Two authoritarian regimes are better than one however you want to look at it. They're not going to be working hand in hand. If one makes a move to squash it it's conceivable the other will foster it instead. If Bitcoin became truly large it may well become a geopolitical tool.
I definitely agree, competition tends to be a good thing no matter whom it comes from. Chinese miners have already shown us their ability & will to influence the future of bitcoin in their favor. It's not a good thing to have such a concentrated amount of mining power in a single area or with a single group, it makes collusion too easy.
I am still quite curious if anyone can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bitmain was actually using Asicboost?
imo, a more distributed network of miners is a good thing for bitcoin, regardless of whose doing the mining.