Posted on 08/24/2015 3:32:11 AM PDT by elhombrelibre
That's questionable, but it's a matter of pure academic interest, I believe. Probably, the reign of Alexandr II "The Liberator", or the Nicolas II's was better.
Yeltsyn's Russia was a failed state, unable to collect the taxes, uphold the law, keep the infrastructure in order and to do the other basic government jobs. It didn't opress the people also, like the USSR had done, but such a country isn't a free one.
How many Russians have died for Putinism in Ukraine?
Russian exports should be cheap..... time to stock up /s
Maybe, at least one of his points sounds pretty leftist. It's MSM from he has borrowed it, of course, but still, he posts from his/her name.
Why do you think that their intention has been Putinism?
Clearly people in Russia are better off economically and education wise than under the czars. Even under good Czars you had middle ages level of poverty and illiteracy (as many parts of Europe did also).
I understood what he meant - Yetlsin era Russia was subservient to western interests more than it has ever been. From the Russian perspective (some Russians or most Russians in any case) that is bad and from the western perspective it was good.
Left Wing Economic Views Are Alive And Well In Ukraine
Well, this makes the people better off but it doesn't make them freer.
People in Russia today are probably freer than they were under the Czars. That is an objective fact.
These "probably" and "objective fact" in one statement are really funny. Actually, we can compare the reign of Tsar Alexandr II "The Liberator" and the modern era.
Firearms: no restrictions > licensed ownership
Justice system: a competitive process with jurors > professional judges and "telephone justice"
But:
Religion: converting from Orthodox Christianity is a felony punished with penal servitude, loss of social standing, freedom of choice for other subjects > untraditional denominations and religions are discouraged
Women rights: a traditinal patriarchial society > full rights
Corporal punishment: used for peasants > banned
A society divided into estates > full social mobility
Well, the modern era is likely freer, but not in all aspects.
No doubt.
Well, Russia has only been ‘democratic’ since the 1990s so it is not fair to compare it with the entire Czarist era. We can say Russia post USSR (and that includes Putin’s era) is a freer place than it was under many (but not all) czars. Acceptable?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.