> How does it get to this point? Russian society has always been at this point, at least, according to the trend of 19th century literature and foreign account

> How does it get to this point? Russian society has always been at this point, at least, according to the trend of 19th century literature and foreign accounts I've read going back to the (I think) 17th century. If you are willing to spend a little time to better understand Russian society, search out the online videos with Mark Galeotti. He is a political scientist specializing in the politics, military, and organized crime of Russia and Ukraine. His discussion of the history of the parallel criminal social structure of Russia/Ukraine is quite interesting.