In reality, today’s authorities are no different from their predecessors. Like the Yeltsin administration, Putin’s team has come from under the wing of the old Soviet Communist Party. But unlike Yeltsin’s people, Putin’s team does not even try to hide the fact – rather, it cultivates the familial affinity. It is just as corporate, just as much built on personal loyalty and back-scratching and gets its support above all from the security forces.
As for the Prosecutor General’s Office, proclaimed the "state’s eye" 300 years ago, it never has been independent and is not today. Quite the contrary, as can be seen by the events of the last two years (18 months of which were under Putin), which have seen the prosecutors valiantly pursuing open opponents of the Kremlin and trying to frighten potential opponents. Also, the tradition of obtaining authorization from the top before investigating high- or even middle-ranking officials has not changed since Soviet times.
Link:
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/5523-6.cfm
As to your last comment- I will say- Since before the Soviet times...since before Soviet times, and again...