Hate to admit it, but Russia as well. I have a theory that it was a grave mistake to link liberalisation to prosperity as a promise, because when the latter didn't follow the former, the Russians gladly jettisoned liberty and actually got a couple of decades of prosperity.

Freedom, democracy etc. were never sold on their own merits, as something that should be valued for what they are. They were always sold as a path to wealth, and guess what happened when people saw wealth could be obtained regardless?

My most hated int'l econ factoid is that Belarus' GDP is significantly higher than Ukraine...

Not exactly the same, but the fact Britain and France consistently make opposite choices about their fundamental policies (labour rights, taxation, policing, etc.) and remain of the same GDP give or take is also discouraging. Why even try.