1917, a year that is almost synonymous with the Russian Revolution.
Tsar Nicholas II, shift away.
Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, were renown party names, among the first most hear or read about in study texts about historic 'party politics' in the region.
Disintegration/dissolution of empires or Union are other big terms.
Russian Empire. USSR.
Perhaps the most famous names in the past century, Lenin, Stalin, and Gorbachev.
Aggressive activities in Afghanistan Russia tensions subsided.

So Russia went from [being] one place and into [being] another, and each time there were sighs of relief.

The concern at this time, November 2023, is the name and banner says one thing, such as headed toward democracy. The days of the Gulag are over. The days of the Cold War are actually a thing of the past, and starting to head toward antiquity.
But, is it really like that?

Great script for a movie, however, hundreds are constantly pouring out information and their emotions every day since Russian military carried out what may be described as a military operation on Ukraine February 2022; -irony, that things are just the way it is.. some things never change... [ cf. B. Hornsby song, politely excuse me], running in the theme of the script, is not a capturing enough a movie for a full rollout at the amateur level given the competition. [I] Will hold off for now, but will say something about:

In addition to the military activities and occupation, reference in gear late February 2022, which was said to have gotten started over concerns about roughly speaking, security leaks coming emanating from within the land mass of Ukraine, whether the Ukraine or its government has anything to do with it a separate conversation,- in addition to the activities, is that those that oppose the activity, pertinently in Russia, have been sent reportedly sent to jail. This has been ongoing since about the start, late February '22.

It is now at the point, that just the numbers of prisoners alone is a distinct global concern.

Reports say 10s of thousands of jailed persons. 

Of course another concern is the trend toward, none better mutter a word or look like they are opposing, or risk death or jail.

That is not the taste of a democracy, such as enjoyed in the USA.

The concept, of if one just says something about the issue, conducive or contradictory, start the oppression, that kind of bully, oppressive environment, it is reminiscent of the Gulag era.

Since moments of heading toward democracy after Gorbachev, is that status something that should or could be tolerated on a global level? Is it the Gulag era all over, or is the Gulag era still there?

A number of notable individuals holding key government posts have 'mysteriously disappeared over the last 2 years', who are at least rumored to have opposed the referent occupation of Russia in Ukraine.

Sometimes typical of war, is post fact the initial invasion, after a time, the day to day, is battle for this, battle for that, located here, or there. The such and such field, or hospital, or old factory. But where did the security leak objective in terms of purpose and intention go? Often not heard much of anymore.

Troubles in Gaza and centered around it, started back up to heightened levels of intensity about a month ago, October 2023, dwarfing the now hackneyed by media coverage of developments in Ukraine.

Much like the Ukraine Russia situation, rivals, issues, and tensions of many sorts have existed in the area radiating from Jerusalem for many years. When a time comes when the intensity is shocking and media grabbing, considering media and pubic access capabilities, here comes the all over the world stop and revolve around the pith of fury, like flying beings come to a bonfire on a desolate beach at night.

Circling around to the Gulag topic, in the news recently, was an early 30s age female painter, Russian in Russia, sentenced to a reported 7 years of imprisonment, for protests of some sort.

Question that may arise, and hopefully arise, in some minds, is, is this kind of oppression going to be around for 7 more years in Russia.

Freedom of speech, seriously not nearly around through there in the region, in the framework, moreover, the matter of how much progress has been made on making sure there isn't some perverted imprisonment scheme going on, is building in gaining attention.

The 'genocide by the Khmer Rouge' from about the mid 1970s, was able to 'walk' and 'escape' a lot of detection from places of the world in the pre photo-phone/ Internet era.

Perhaps contrary to the way people thought things were and mildly changed, for some change to the next, for example, the turbulent 60s in the US, wherein had, President Johnsons War on Poverty, events of Abdul Malik Shabazz (a.k.a. Malcolm X), and intervention in Vietnam. After the 'boys came home', from the Vietnam War [not so much discussing Korean War and Panama], there is this glorified picture of now it is the disco era, and everything is well and good, but some who are not as well to do, or have outward bodily features that may not have been the favored mainstream from from one town to the next, things are not so good. Perhaps had it been known the extent of what was going on in Cambodia, like media viewers are aware of events in Ukraine and Gaza, the ideas of the ups and downs of life might have been different.

Things were not good for the Cambodians, especially Champa people, in the late 1970s. Things were not good for prisoners in the Gulag, and the imagination might, it might, stretch to what the worst was. Today, 2023, we are witnessing elements of the Gulag era going in Russia. 

Walking without being detected or held accountable, I do not believe is on the slate to keep up, at that degree of severity. Regardless of how friendly relations are between the Russian government and others, regardless of what the real deal or media hyped relations are with places such as Chechnya, who were, reminding, bombed, in 1999, and faced other oppressions.


Published evening EST November 17, 2023