> I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my

> I've crossed in and out of former East Germany and Poland when they were still behind the iron curtain and never ever had to so much as show what I had in my pockets. I know there were exceptions for Yugoslavians and others but in general, for especially USSR citizens and Western German citizens, the flow of people across the iron curtain was incredibly regulated and especially soviets trying to flee east Germany were regularly executed. So please spare me your diatribe. The guards, if they chose to at any time, could have detained you and questioned you. The police could have searched you at any time anywhere in the USSR whether you were a citizen or not. In Russia this is still the case to this day. Of course all sovereign countries, whether "bad or not" reserve the right to search anything you seek to drag into their borders. This goes without saying! No country is under an obligation to host you, you are a guest. And no country has to subject itself to sabotage, political incitement, criminal activity, foreign lobbying, espionage, etc, from foreigners. Period. You don't have a right to import anything in to any country without it being potentially searched. That is called border control. Every country does it to some extent, some more thoroughly than others.