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The Russian Systema
The Russian system is unlike the Western system of governance. It has evolved over the millennia into a highly centralized government where those at the top have almost complete control. This is not just control in general. It can be very precise control of all aspects of life of the Russian subject. This is not present-day Russia. The way the country works has a history and traditions, in some cases going back millennia. Many believe Russia works the way it does because of Vladimir Putin. He recreated a system that Russians are comfortable with after the country went through Democracy, managed democracy, oligarchy, and now a full power vertical. Russians conceive of the state, power, and the continuity of government in a very different way than we do.
This is essential to understand. We are not dealing with a system where there are citizens with free will. Instead, it’s a tradition where rights are fungible and depend on the goodwill of the ruler.
This is what is called the Systema, the System. It is not new, and it started to take shape as early as Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who used a form of secret police, the Oprichnina. This was the first attempt to create one of the legs of the stool. This is a police state. That the Oprichnina was religious, mostly, is beside the point. It was incredibly loyal to the young Tsar and helped him secure what he considered essential lands for Rus…