Which Russia was better?

[All Along The Watchtower]

How in the world is Soviet Russia winning?

Why wouldn’t it, from the standpoint of the ordinary citizen (ideology aside)?

The only time in the Russian Federation’s history when a lot of the population had it pretty damn good was the 2000s high oil prices era. I wouldn’t want to live in Russia 
in the 90s, and I sure as hell would not want to now, obviously.

The Soviet Union was always oppressive and repressive, but post-Stalin it wasn’t like a lot of ordinary people were being disappeared on a routine basis. And it certainly provided a baseline of stability, security, a sense of national mission, belonging, and purpose (however problematic), and a system of belief for most people (however wrong).

Finally, the USSR was a great power—a superpower, even. What is modern Russia? Nothing, by comparison.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Yes, even the post-Stalinist USSR was incredibly, brutally repressive. Though Putin has certainly been doing his best to catch up on that score since February of this year!

It should be noted, however, that Late Putinist Russia has been getting more repressive within the past few years, even before the “special military operation.”