i in turn see where people criticizing navalny on chapo are coming from, but i suspect that most people's knowledge of the situation in russia is distorted, at least partially, in particular, i don't think people realize how much of a capitalist country russia actually is (or at least the class disparity present here), or the level of corruption that is present here: the ruling class of billionaires (with a little bit of millionaires sprinkled in the lower positions), who got rich in the chaotic and unlawful privatization of the 90s, who completely control the press, media, judicial system, who repress people for their political views, who remove funding from welfare programs... people's life expectancy, income, happiness, access to welfare are consistently falling

this is basically ronald raegan and margaret thratcher on steroids with a sprinkle of remnants of the soviet union, in the sense that russia's ruling class doesn't even need to pretend that they're trying to serve it's people..