So glad you posted it. I read it from beginning to its end. Very educational and enlightening. I visited the Soviet Union in 1974 as part of a semi-VIP group of 25 from Washington, D.C. comprised of attorneys and their wives. Over a two-week period we saw Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev and Odessa. Even attended a trial in Kiev that sent shivers up my spine only because the three female judges were scary in their demeanor.
My favorite reader's comment on the article was:
I had a Russian Jewish emigre tell me in the 1980’s that a lot of Russians like to be told what to do. They couldn’t handle freedom.
Their whole “education” system etc is set up that way, so it’s not really a surprise, is it?