In his hysterical editorial in today's Guardian, Edward Lucas calls Russia “deeply corrupt and lawless”.
Unfortunately, exactly the opposite is true: Russia is so saturated with laws and its legal system so harsh that “more than one in 10 of the country's citizens have been convicted of crimes over the past 15 years“, reports the Moscow Times, quoting a retired Supreme Court judge.
Maybe it's true what all those cold warriors said about never trusting a Russian: after all, there's a 10% chance that he's a felon!
Moreover, contrary to the view that Russia is heading in “the wrong direction” and moving away from the West, the country is actually on track to match America, at least in terms of police efficiency:
In the US, more than 30% of the population are estimated to have a criminal record.
Forget great power rivalry and Eastern European geopolitics: the new cold war competition is unfolding in exactly this sphere.
While the US continues to “incarcerate more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars…and [remains] the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people)”, Russia is not far behind and rapidly closing the gap (628 per 100,000).
We will bury you yet!