That is the point. Post Putin Russia isn't going to magically change and become a happy place. Society can't change overnight and humans can't significantly, if any, expand their mental horizon fast (even when it is supposedly advanced humans and society of the the future and when presented with tremendously wonderful new aspects of reality) - that goes through several Strugatskis works (Hard to be a God, Roadside Picnic, Anthill, The Waves Extinguish the Wind)
I can't say that Putin's Russia is a particularly unhappy place, especially taking into account the bad things one carries inside and will surely transplant wherever they land. And compared to the thing the world now wants to build here, which is also described in post-soviet social fiction.
In Inhabited Island, Maxim takes some time to ponder whether the society he appeared in is actually unhappy and needs any help, considering its level of develoment.
