Putin's Russia - it sure as hell isn't Utopia

I know I've been coming down pretty hard on Russian foreign policy, just as I've come down hard on US foreign policy. But another measure of a sick society like Russia (and USA, of course) is to examine its domestic situation - the way it treats its own less-than-filthy-rich citizens: *According to multiple sources, Russian police are extremely corrupt, and they engage in frequent brutality and even murder. In that respect, Russia strongly resembles the USA. *Russian prisons are brutal, nasty and regressive in their practices. No role model whatsoever. In that respect, Russia strongly resembles the USA. *Russia is an extreme case of Laissez Faire Capitalism in action, to the benefit of its heartless billionaires, and the detriment of the numerous homeless - including many children - down on their luck, and living on the streets of Moscow. The Russian capital is now one of the most expensive cities on Earth. While it's true the West, especially Americans like Jeffrey Sachs, pressured Russia to implement the harshest, most callous type of Private Enterprise "system" during the 1990s, in order to receive a pittance in "aid guarantees," Boris Yeltsin was only too happy to go along with schemes proposed by the IMF and other Western institutions. (See; Naomi Klein, "The Shock Doctrine") *It's understandable that Russia produces and exports huge quantities of oil and natural gas; the country doesn't produce a whole lot of consumer goods that other countries want to purchase. That doesn't negate the fact that Russia is making its own very substantial contribution to global warming. While Russia doesn't emit nearly as much CO2 into the atmosphere as do either the USA or China, it does plenty of damage in its own right. And even now, decades after the Chernobyl catastrophe, Russia still generates 16% of its energy needs in its nuclear power plants. *Putin's attitude toward gays and lesbians is discriminatory at best, cruel at its worst. Gays and Lesbians, for those who aren't aware, are fellow human beings who should enjoy all the rights and privileges granted to others. Of course, Russia's never even made the pretense of being a democracy, so I guess with respect to it's treatment of homosexuals, it is at least.... consistent, and less hypocritical than the United States. *Russian policy on hard drug use is quite punitive; in that respect, Russia is similar to the United States. Russia's drug prohibiton contributes substantially to the significant HIV problem in cities like St. Petersburg: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/how-punitive-drug-policy-fuels-hiv-epidemic-russia