They’re aligning with the US because the other party they could have aligned with has annexed their other ally once already, and then launched a full scale invasion to take more in the last 10 years.

You can say what you want about American democracy and probably be right - but it’s more little d democratic than Russia is currently by leaps and bounds.

One does not need to look at a Supreme Court ruling as a coup to see a dictator at work in Russia.