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Comment by epolanski | Hacker News Reader

Actually US did a lot to help Yeltsin reelected, never stopped the expansion eastwards, attacked Serbia without UN approval, pushed for Kosovo referendum under Nato occupation, never stopped the military exercises and flights on russian border and tried its best to meddle in Russia's internal affairs and us economists were among those that most pushed Yeltsin for the shock transition towards a capitalist market which led to ghe 1998 default.

I think US did enough divide and conquer and meddling to help bringing back an authoritarian government.

Anyway, totalitarian has a specific meaning, not a random one, it's a government that holds total control on all powers in a country. Stalinist USSR and Nazi germany (modern eritrea and north korea) apply to that definition, Italian or spanish fascisms do not (in both the head of state was the king), even less Russia since it is a de jure democracy.

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> I think US did enough divide and conquer and meddling to help bringing back an authoritarian government.

There is a phrase in Russia, :) "But in USA they lynch people". The idea is that in Russia it's often that discussion is interrupted by listing the ills of America, to avoid talking about Russia or for other reasons, so it's easy to justify pointing fingers to "the real evil".

I think you're wrong and your arguments are misplaced.

The phrase "never stopped the expansion eastwards" suggests that you don't see e.g. Slovenia as an interested party to join NATO, for whatever reason they chose, and instead see it as an evidence of guilt.

> Stalinist USSR and Nazi germany ... apply to that definition... even less Russia since it is a de jure democracy.

Current Russian laws mean little to define Russia de facto. Just like Hitler laws meant little at the time.

What does it matter what Slovenia wants? NATO is US empire, at the end of the day it's US decision.

>Current Russian laws mean little to define Russia de facto.

There is a huge difference between real totalitarian state and present day Russia. In present day, there are less than 100 people have been imprisoned for "political" reasons (for violating foreign agent law or for violating army fakes law). It's widely discussed and criticised in Russian national media.

In 1937 alone something like 700000 people were executed by Stalin's NKVD, and millions were imprisoned. If I wrote comment like this, it surely leads to my imprisonment. That was totalitarian state, state when you are afraid to speak freely with your own family. Current Russian regime is nothing like that.

You don't need genocide to be considered totalitarian.

Yes. To be considered totalitarian government should claim TOTAL control on life of ordinary citizen, including his speech and mind. Putin's regime is nothing like that.

> Current Russian laws mean little to define Russia de facto. Just like Hitler laws meant little at the time.

Legal status is the difference between a totalitarian and authoritarian state.

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