Quote Originally Posted by 14Russian View Post
liberties in that country are being eradicated
I'm not sure the existence or non-existence of liberties, or to say it better, the degree of liberties allowed is the major concern for the majority of people. I think most people just want to live their lives. And, in my opinion, at least they want that their government will not make their life worse. Everything else is up to the culture/customs/political fight.

Quote Originally Posted by 14Russian View Post
The two main political parties are virtually the same [...]
And both are equally powerful. Meaning, the 'watchdogs' know they are sure to get some support from either side. Which I think is presently among the best options available to fight corruption. One of the respected members of this forum Ramil once said truly that the major difference between Russian and the US internal politics is that: should a fraction of what's known about a typical Russian politician be known in the US, that politician would step down immediately. In Russia, that politician could safely ignore all the 'barking'.