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Russians went through an incredibly painful transformation since 1991, and most paid a big price for democracy, rights, and capitalism: the stability was gone, the social, however poor it was before, net was gone, hyperinflation wiped out people's life savings, jobs, etc. It was very very bad for most people.
But what's most tragic is that after having paid this INCREDIBLE price for something like a liberal democracy, Putin is taking all of those gains away. People lost their life savings for freedom of speech, and now that's taken away as well, so they lost them for NOTHING.
Yes, the oligarchs were bad, but Putin's Iron Fist is no better, and most Russians are just getting screwed out of their social and economic rights once again.
