From the article “7 Reasons That Russia Is Not The Soviet Union”:
1) Parts of the Soviet Union are now members of NATO and the EU –
2) The Russian federation is much more Russian than the Soviet Union -
3) No single political party has a complete monopoly on power -
4) Russia is not a garrison state -
5) Russia has a convertible currency -
6) Russia’s economy is (mostly) a free market -
7) Russia has open borders -
Well, I can think of another reason. My nomination for #8 would be Russian women. Back in the bad old days of the USSR Russian women were butt ugly awful. But, since the fall of Communism and their conversion to Democracy (well, sorta) a metamorphous has occurred. Their women now look great! Wow! Amazing what the light of day can do, lol! :)