Everything in Russia is a vertical of power leading up to Putin. And I think in the way that Ann has just laid out what's happening in Ukraine, in this case, strong society is beating out strong state. And there's a lesson in that.
An overweening state greatly prefers governing an atomistic populace, where each individual is like a BB thrown into an electoral sack. There's no structural rigidity to it, especially after laxity in the law concerning porn, pot, and poker has now greased all the BBs.
