I won’t argue your every point because it would take too long.
Bottomline is a great deal of societies and Russia included could have had much more competitive political systems if not for the foreign interests actively attempting to buy opposition.
It is a tough choice for them because it is universally recognized that free political systems are more successful all around.
Unfortunately, it can’t be applied to nominally free systems but with groups in power controlled by foreign interests. The idea of competitive political system is to apply different ideas on how to run the country better and for the populace to decide who are doing better by their vote. It simply doesn’t work if one or several competing political groups has foreign interests in mind.
For a group in charge with a patriotic agenda there is a choice to accept the related loss of sovereignty by allowing such opposition or to softly suppress them.
As I said earlier it is a tough choice but you can’t blame them.
You put the the beginning of looting Russia at the start of Putin’s term but the real looting was exactly before with foreign-owned group in charge.
And there was nothing democratic and free about. Everyone outraged at Putin regime jailed two people accused of beating policemen during recent protest.
In 1993 Yeltsyn regime gunned down 1000 protestors and then shelled Congress with artillery for impeaching him. He usurped power and stolen the election and nominal economy shrinked 100 fold during his presidency with median incomes shrinking to $63 a month. The West praised him.
That’s how democracy and your version of ‘free election’ worked there.
Russia can have a more competitive political system if president for life Putin will allow it.