Why Russia can never be free
(Or, why it is cursed)
This was a hard truth for me to accept. As a liberal Russian immigrant, I kind of assumed that Putin was a phase, not a return to the mean. Then the war happened, and I started asking deeper questions.
At first I felt guilty about immigrating. If 10 million educated Russians did not immigrate, would it have made a difference? But the more I thought about it, the more I learned that autocracy is the norm, immigration of liberals (small L) is inevitable and a liberal Russia is theoretically impossible.
The reason is, Russia is a construct of Moscow’s imperialist expansion. If Russia ever becomes democratic, the “regions” must be in some way equal. Look at this map of roads: Moscow is surrounded by concentric circles, and all roads lead to Moscow. It’s a metaphor and a practical convenience. It’s a construct for the flow of resources and political power. It was constructed under centuries of consecutive autocracies, and so long as it endures, nothing will change.