As an immigrant, and therefore not beholden to either side, it is hard for me to distinguish whether your last line is with regard to Russia, or the US. Which is very much the point of the article.
It was about Russia, but I see this creeping up a little bit in France. The recent president was a bit too quick to put police blocks everytime there was a manifestation. They were a little more brutal and unhinged than usual and the president didn't seem to be annoyed about it. If he pushes further in that direction I'll be afraid of the police in the streets and will suddenly lie about my beliefs in public out of fear of being threatened or arrested.
Western countries have flaws, yeah the media spread bullshit depending on which interests each channel has, US police is too gun-ready, the financial world is rigged, etc etc but so far people can still speak up, it's a subtle but crucial difference.
