Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
What do you mean? That people are scared of saying what they really think?
I don't think so, not based on people who participate here. I think it was perhaps like that, to a degree during the Stalin era and for a while later. But I think it was a very long time since a Russian person was seriously concerned about expressing a political view.
And in addition, this is an anonymous forum, hosted in the USA.

They only exception, I think, might be perhaps government officials, based on what I have been reading.
If they value their career they should probably not be too outspoken. But that is not very different from anywhere else.

If you think I am wrong, please say, but that is my impression.
I accidentally said "some Russians". My crazy thought was that might give somebody the idea I wasn't talking about all of them.

And no, I don't say they are scared. It's just for some reason they tend to stand for those in power whatever the latter do, just like those in my metaphor about discussing a boss. Not all, but the tendency does exist.