A place that wasn't a police state of sorts with increasingly draconian legislation. Opposite end would possibly be Swiss or Icelanfic jurisdiction. I'd never use an email service in Russia. I have an untrusted, Gmail account for availability purposes. Confidential mail still encrypted and preferrably sent through Swiss account.

Thinking about switching untrusted one over to Fastmail. Still surveillance state but less surveillance and supposedly good uptime.

Fastmail has been my go-to for almost as long as they have existed--almost 15 years. There is NOTHING better in my estimation and I've used them all before--free and paid.

Rob and the Fastmail team are most likely the best in the world at what they do, and as an IT guy with decades of experience, I don't say that lightly. They have more than earned my shekels every year. Give them a go... you will be very pleasantly surprised.

I recall a story about Swiss company, Crypto AG: http://mediafilter.org/caq/cryptogate/

I've told the story many times. It can happen anywhere. It was an unscrupulous group of people in it solely for the money primarily selling to people like NSA. The target wasn't popular with anyone. Guy running it was offered some cash to sabotage the equipment of that target to help a major customer. "Happy to oblige!"

My endorsement of Switzerland is about legal jurisdiction, culture that respects privacy, and stability. Well-intentioned owners won't be forced to do the kinds of things we see in America or Russia. At worst, it will be something selective with a warrant. A nice foundation to build on.