They know the West in general is too civilized to ever use nuclear weapons first. scenario.
Not commenting on whether it was the right or wrong thing to do....but ever heard of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
The dynamic of foreign relations and nuclear weapons were quite a bit different in 1945 than they were in 1985. I don’t necessarily think it is accurate to judge the Cold War with World War II era actions as a standard.
True. But that doesn't have anything to do with who is "civilized." It has to do with nuclear proliferation and the fact that the leaders of US and Europe don't have a death wish. And neither I believe does Putin.