Its more a case of Putin and the Russian Government = bad. Not Russian People = Bad.
Do you still believe the UK government attacked Scripal with Novitchok to make Russia look bad? 
If Putin is bad, where does that leave Bush Jr.?
I suspect the Russians were drawn in to a sting operation. As for Skripal, he could easily appear in an unidentifiable location to say hello on camera. Any makeshift, nondescript room would do. But just like Tommy Mair, he has disappeared.