Russia and China let their citizens use whatever software they please, be it commercial, pirated, or free. By itself, software is harmless to these autocrats.

Russia and China let their citizens use whatever software they please, be it commercial, pirated, or free. By itself, software is harmless to these autocrats. These regimes care about telecom, not software. Both Russia and China restrict usage of the internet with a combination of technical, legal, and repressive methods.