... real dictatorships, thousands or even tens of thousands disappear, and are tortured or killed. Criticism of the regime can be picked up by the secret police and can lead to the worst of consequences.
This bears no relationship to the regime over which Vladimir Putin presides in Russia. In addition to the aspects of life Daniil mentions, there are other features that distinguish Putin’s Russia from real dictatorships. Daniil doesn’t have to have the slightest worry about making critical ...
... regimes can survive in the long run only if they are supported by society, or at least if there is not sufficient support for resistance.
Has there been a rollback of democracy in Russia? Was Boris Yeltsin more of a democrat than Mikhail Gorbachev or Vladimir Putin? In 1993, Yeltsin illegally dissolved the Supreme Soviet, and shelled the Russian White House, resulting in the deaths of 187 people. He unconstitutionally scrapped the existing constitution, and temporarily banned political opposition....
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/d%C3%A9tente-plus-how-should-west-deal-russia
“Leslie Gelb speaks for much of the US foreign policy establishment, writes Walter Laquer, “when he says that ... ‘It is totally unrealistic . . . to think that the West can gain desired Russian restraint and cooperation without dealing with Moscow as a great power that possesses real and legitimate interests, especially in its border areas’.”
In contrast to Gelb, Cold Warrior...
Of course, I understand what you write about the sorry state of affairs in Russia. I am far more optimistic than you about Russia, but can't disagree with most of what you say. Most discouraging is that I wonder what can feed the hopes of your generation, on which the future of the country depends. Of course, there is much about Russia that is good, and which gives grounds for hope. Yet, this does not negate your arguments.
To be sure, there has been enormous progress in the last twenty...