"That Putin, or anyone else graduating from a Soviet or Post-Soviet university may have cheated is not in the least surprising. It'd happen more here in the US if it was easier to get away with."
I am sick and tired of you and your ilk claiming that there is no difference between the US and Russia - I think you are a Kremlin troll and I don't believe you are retiring this month from the Army and Air Force.
I suggest you invest in some reading comprehension training. You've once again misrepresented what I said.
BTW, is it your position that cheating does not occur on university campuses? Or are all those cheating scandals fabrications?
If you think an American wouldn't cheat to get a degree you are sadly and unfortunately mistaken. There is plenty of press, data, and studies available that prove this point. Might I also remind you that there are tons of liberals attending liberal colleges and doing things that liberals are wont to do - cheating, drug taking, etc. Merely pointing this fact out does not in any way, shape, or form, infer that the U.S. is the same as Russia.
Furthermore, the ability to recognize our (American) problems does not equate to shilling for the Russians. That's what makes America great. The right to discuss our plusses and minuses openly. And the ability to solve these problem areas.
When you equate criticism of bad things that happen in the US with treason you end up using Stalinist tactics - after all, according to the Soviets there was NOTHING bad in the Soviet Union and those who claimed bad things were happening were labeled traitors.