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Having lived in Russia for 6 months in the past, it's is not as bad as western media makes it seem. Unlike China, their internet is still open. Also, internet a

Having lived in Russia for 6 months in the past, it's is not as bad as western media makes it seem. Unlike China, their internet is still open. Also, internet access is much cheaper there than in the west. Politically, people are definitely afraid to speak out against top government figures but there is still some freedom of expression politically but of course not quite at the level of most of the western world. Russia's government is relatively new and people are still getting used to capitalism and democracy. I think people are still in control because they know most of the facts. People are simply more tolerant of their politicians bending the rules. Russians like a strong leader; for most Russian people, this is more important than democracy itself.

Fnoord 7y ago
> Russians like a strong leader; for most Russian people, this is more important than democracy itself. In the same way Italians preferred Berlusconi, despite the scandals (e.g. Bunga Bunga sex parties [1])? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunga_bunga#Resurgence_in_Italy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunga_bunga#Resurgence_in_Ital...
- Synaesthesia 7y ago
  You have to also understand the context. Russia was ruined by Yeltsin and the free for all under him, it was a major catastrophe. So of course Putin, who brought Russia out of the abyss and back into a position of power, will be popular there.
  - zzzcpan 7y ago
    > Russia was ruined by Yeltsin This is just propaganda. Another way to look at it: Putin, as a head of FSB, sabotaged Yeltsin to get into power.
thejohnconway 7y ago
You’re getting unfairly downvoted, HN seems to have weird groupthink on Russia. I have heard this exact thing from other people who have lived in Russia, and it is a legitimate point of view.
- atomi 7y ago
  I think generally people don't like Russia's influence campaigns on Western democracies and that distaste bleeds over; not to mention it's imperialist campaigns against Ukraine.
  - thejohnconway 7y ago
    Yes, and decades of anti-Russian sentiment due to the Cold War, maybe. Russia’s position in Ukraine is distasteful to the west, but entirely in keeping with their defence strategy which has been consistent for hundreds of years.
    - atomi 7y ago
      I don't think hand waving the invasion of a neighboring country is going to change anyone's opinion.
      - thejohnconway 7y ago
        I’m not trying to change anyone’s opinion. I think Russia is heading to dark place and as a liberal I am appalled at some of the Russian government’s policies and oppression. But the story most of us get in the west is weirdly biased, and not contextualised.
        atomi 7y ago
        > "weirdly biased" Yeah it is.
  - quetzthecoatl 7y ago
    as bad as Russia has been (bots on internet), it pales in comparison with US/UK interference in other countries. In fact it pales in comparison with US meddling in Russian affairs - http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960715,00.html http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960715,00.html
adventured 7y ago
> Having lived in Russia for 6 months in the past, it's is not as bad as western media makes it seem. Unlike China, their internet is still open. That would be great, if Russia were not actively working on closing off its Internet as China did and for similar reasons. [1][2] The Russian firewall is being put into place now. It's obvious what they will do with it. The sole reason it's still relatively open is because the Russian state is incredibly backwards technologically, it is operated top down by very slow fiat, and so it has taken a long time for the Russian authorities to implement total Internet control within their territory. They've been working that direction for a decade. > Also, internet access is much cheaper there than in the west. I fail to see how that's a good point. Russia is a very poor nation, with incomes less than 1/3 the median of the EU and less than 1/6 the median of affluent Western nations. Of course their services cost a lot less than in Denmark, Sweden, Germany or the US. As one example, Romania's Internet (famous for fast speeds at low cost) costs a lot less than it does in the US as well, appropriately so, their incomes are 15%-20% that of the US. The median Russian is poorer than the median Romanian now. To adjust to US income standards for Russian Internet costs, they should not be paying more than roughly $8 to $12 per month. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sovereign-internet-law-cut-web-access-censorship-2019-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sovereign-internet-la... [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50259597 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50259597
hotdogsgto 7y ago
And Russia has much more social liberties than the US does...
dragonwriter 7y ago
> Russia's government is relatively new and people are still getting used to capitalism and democracy. No they aren't, because, among other things... > Russians like a strong leader; for most Russian people, this is more important than democracy itself. Which is among the reasons why they have a strong leader and not anything with more than the superficial veneer of democracy typical of most 20th Century and later authoritarian regimes

Fnoord 7y ago

> Russians like a strong leader; for most Russian people, this is more important than democracy itself. In the same way Italians preferred Berlusconi, despite the scandals (e.g. Bunga Bunga sex parties [1])? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunga_bunga#Resurgence_in_Italy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunga_bunga#Resurgence_in_Ital...

Synaesthesia 7y ago
You have to also understand the context. Russia was ruined by Yeltsin and the free for all under him, it was a major catastrophe. So of course Putin, who brought Russia out of the abyss and back into a position of power, will be popular there.
- zzzcpan 7y ago
  > Russia was ruined by Yeltsin This is just propaganda. Another way to look at it: Putin, as a head of FSB, sabotaged Yeltsin to get into power.

thejohnconway 7y ago

You’re getting unfairly downvoted, HN seems to have weird groupthink on Russia. I have heard this exact thing from other people who have lived in Russia, and it is a legitimate point of view.

atomi 7y ago
I think generally people don't like Russia's influence campaigns on Western democracies and that distaste bleeds over; not to mention it's imperialist campaigns against Ukraine.
- thejohnconway 7y ago
  Yes, and decades of anti-Russian sentiment due to the Cold War, maybe. Russia’s position in Ukraine is distasteful to the west, but entirely in keeping with their defence strategy which has been consistent for hundreds of years.
  - atomi 7y ago
    I don't think hand waving the invasion of a neighboring country is going to change anyone's opinion.
    - thejohnconway 7y ago
      I’m not trying to change anyone’s opinion. I think Russia is heading to dark place and as a liberal I am appalled at some of the Russian government’s policies and oppression. But the story most of us get in the west is weirdly biased, and not contextualised.
      - atomi 7y ago
        > "weirdly biased" Yeah it is.
- quetzthecoatl 7y ago
  as bad as Russia has been (bots on internet), it pales in comparison with US/UK interference in other countries. In fact it pales in comparison with US meddling in Russian affairs - http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960715,00.html http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19960715,00.html

adventured 7y ago

> Having lived in Russia for 6 months in the past, it's is not as bad as western media makes it seem. Unlike China, their internet is still open. That would be great, if Russia were not actively working on closing off its Internet as China did and for similar reasons. [1][2] The Russian firewall is being put into place now. It's obvious what they will do with it. The sole reason it's still relatively open is because the Russian state is incredibly backwards technologically, it is operated top down by very slow fiat, and so it has taken a long time for the Russian authorities to implement total Internet control within their territory. They've been working that direction for a decade. > Also, internet access is much cheaper there than in the west. I fail to see how that's a good point. Russia is a very poor nation, with incomes less than 1/3 the median of the EU and less than 1/6 the median of affluent Western nations. Of course their services cost a lot less than in Denmark, Sweden, Germany or the US. As one example, Romania's Internet (famous for fast speeds at low cost) costs a lot less than it does in the US as well, appropriately so, their incomes are 15%-20% that of the US. The median Russian is poorer than the median Romanian now. To adjust to US income standards for Russian Internet costs, they should not be paying more than roughly $8 to $12 per month. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sovereign-internet-law-cut-web-access-censorship-2019-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sovereign-internet-la... [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50259597 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50259597

hotdogsgto 7y ago

And Russia has much more social liberties than the US does...

dragonwriter 7y ago

> Russia's government is relatively new and people are still getting used to capitalism and democracy. No they aren't, because, among other things... > Russians like a strong leader; for most Russian people, this is more important than democracy itself. Which is among the reasons why they have a strong leader and not anything with more than the superficial veneer of democracy typical of most 20th Century and later authoritarian regimes