Is Russia truly democratic today or is it still an authoritarian

state?
Starting off signs have shown that Russia was an autocracy when the czars ruled
because of the absolute powers that the czars had. Ivan the terrible took absolute power
over the people in Russia, and he fought back. He got his own police forces whose duty
was to hunt and kill people. Ivan killed many boyars, their families, and even their peasants
who worked for them. Ivan had full control over the boyars, and if they didnt listen he would
take their land. When Peter the Great obtained power people took a liking to him because
he tried his best to Westernize Russia. Peter was very in control and dominant which made
him an absolute monarch. He was one of Russias greatest reformers, and he did
everything in his power to learn about European customs and manufacturing techniques.
The government didnt allow any demands for a constitution, and censored all speech
Alexander II made liberal reforms which he also wanted to modernize Russia. He allowed
rural districts to elect zemstvos to control public health, levy taxes, education, assistance for
the poor, local crafts, and some public works programs. Nicholas II created an electoral law
which increased the representative of landowners and restricted voting to other people.
The communist government under Stalin was known as a totalitarianism. It was basically
like an authoritarian state because it gave the government total state control over every
aspect of public and private life. Dictators of totalitarian states used violence against the
people which sometimes ended in murder. The government had total control over
education, and if students asked the communist party anything they would be imprisoned.
Propaganda was spread which caused people to believe in certain beliefs or actions. There
was total control over all mass media, publication, film, are, and music. Secret Police would
use tanks against riots. All telephone lines, and mail were monitored, and if they saw
something they didnt like people were executed. The great Purge was a campaign of terror
which eliminated anyone who threatened to take Stalins power away. Collective farms were
used which meant that the government took over family farms. Families had to work on
these farms to produce food for the state.
Today with Putin being president it still seems as if Russia is an authoritarian state. Many
human rights issues have been violated such as hesitating land deals, out of shape loans,
and under the table money. There has also been many violent attacks against Russian
journalists, human rights activists, and resistance politicians. In some cases people were
beaten so bad that they never would be the same again. Acts were made that abolished
some local elections, and other acts to gain more people of the Kremlin. Russia is still seen
as a police state, and people have to watch what they say without being harmed. People
aren't allowed to have rallies, and if anyone breaks that law people are taken into custody.
Carousel voting was also used which many people went around casting the same vote at
different places. If Russia was more of a democracy this wouldnt be allowed, and every
vote would count once. Putin moved against the oligarchs to gain power and money all for
himself and his cronies. All of this evidence shows that Russia is truly not a democratic
state, and truly never was. More signs show that Russia is more of an authoritarian state.