In fact, as to the effort required to get a propiska, that’s not the least bit surprising. The government is sending a clear message to the people of the country that they stand in servitude to the regime and have no rights of any kind. By creating these obstacles the regime cowers and intimidates the population, and by denying them social benefits it weakens them. Weak, intimidated people are of course much easier to control, with fewer resources, than people of a different kind.

And it’s highly noteworthy that nowhere in this translation do we see any comments from Russians placing blame on Putin or Medvedev, much less do we see any plans for direction action. Instead, the author simply proposes to do the government’s work for it, allowing it to save money to be used on a new cold war with the outside world.

Here we have the horrifying mess that is Russia in perfect microcosm.