O.K., Geno's right, it's not so bad really. As I've said, times better than any given moment of the communist period. Indivudual freedom of speech is not hampered in any way. I' for one man, am not afraid to voice my opinion online or offline. True, some "opposition leaders" have been shut up and locked up - but those "leaders" are, really, racist punks who belong behind bars, if not a mental institution. But when you switch on your TV, you're likely to see a lot of tasteless hypocricity. Like those elections, which would be the first ones I'll ignore. Everybody knows they don't decide anything - yet all the media try to picture it as the life-or-death battled. But, well, "independent media" is an oxymoron anyway.
Speaking of elections - I, and anyone else, can predict the results now. Here I go now, about 4 hours before the end of voting time: I gve Medvedev a comfortable, but not absolute, lead of 60, maybe 65 per cent. (90 or 99%, like Kazakhstan or Bielorussia, would be simply ridiculous, unnatural-like) Zyuganov and Zhirinnovsky would tie for the second place with about 15 % each. The rest, between 5 and 10, %, goes to Bogdanov.
The results of he elections are settled, but the voters were screwed up not at the poll booths, it's going to be honest enough in there. It's just that the opposition leaders, and I mean real leaders, the ones who shell the cash for campaigns, backed off before it was time to name their champions. Why they backed off? I don't know. But they did. Medvedev's "competition" is nothing but a clumsy imitation. They wouldn't even win against each other. So... Thats about it.
But the truth is that a majority of Russians are now living much better, than they ever did.
