[Freakinoldguy]

llama66 llama66:

only Putin is no longer President, he is Prime Minister, so it would be Medvedev (who became President in May) who would open gulags and such (although doubtful), although I doubt they would kill millions of their own, Iosef Stalin was insane dictator who murdered his way to the top (Trotsky was supposed to lead, be we all know what happened in Mexico City...), Medvedev and Putin are devout nationalists who believe Russia was better off under the strict guidance of the state and free from foreign interference.

Putin is still the power, even if it's behind the throne and he isn't likely to reliquish that anytime soon.

These two may have learned from their past mistakes about how to treat the population, but if what you say is true about the Russians wanting to live in a totalitarian society, then it isn't a stretch for them to go back to the way it was, albiet somewhat reduced.

The only reason the Gulags were ever shut down was that they didn't return the profit, and populate the hinterlands of the Soviet Union like Stalin had wanted. Unfortunately they had to wait for him to die before Beria could make it public and start closing down the camps.

Alot of people have the misconception that these camps shut down after Stalins death, they didn't. They were still being run by the KGB at a reduced pace till the fall of Communism.

My guess would be that given his broad reaching treason act, which mirros the old Soviet style anti government legal statutes, the uncertain economic times, and Putin's KGB pedigree, they'd like nothing more than to try and open the camps again, only this time turning a profit and getting rid or any of their opponents in the process, just like Stalin.

[Tman1]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Most Russians have had a slave/serf mentality since the days of the Kievan Rus....as in they've always had it.

The Kievan Rus were more likely Ukranians rather than Russians hence "Kiev" in Ukraine though as a slavic race it didn't much matter at the time I guess. I'd say Peter the Great was responsible for that. The people didn't like that so they opted for a more brutal regime like the Bolsheviks. I'm of Slavic stock myself but as a historian, this just stymies me on societal behaviour. New freedoms, same government.

Ex-Soviet states know what they want, why don't the Russians?

[ShepherdsDog]

Most slavic societies in eastern Europe never grew out of a feudalistic mentality, or society, be they from Kiev, Novgorod or Moscow(the Golden Horde didn't help much either). It was only in western Europe that Poles, Czechs and Slovaks adopted/adapted political practices and institutions more common in Western nations.

The Renaissance, Reformation and Industrial Revolution, all crucial in the development of our society, never spread much beyond Europe proper (cultural rather than geographical). It took almost 800 years for our system to evolve, while the Romanovs, prior to the Revolution, were still weilding powers that British monarchs had dared not even dream about, for centuries.