Russia, an aggressive dictatorship, armed with more than 2000 nuclear bombs, most darkest and mystical form of Christian ideology-Orthodox Christianity which replaced communism, and hatred to every idea of Western civilization, became forgotten and therefore very dangerous enemy.

Not to mention that they have an entire network of spies planted in America. Russia is still our enemy. [Their only partial saving grace is their women. Russian women are gorgeous.]

"So what is Russia today? A dictatorship under Putin?"

Exactly. A dictatorship under Putin/Medvedev unholy alliance which rules tamed oligarchs (“capitalists" of James Taggart's kind).
Untamed capitalists who believed "that the country had made a cursory move toward democracy." are or in Siberian labor camps, like Chodorkovsky, or in the West. I have an opportunity to watch Russian TV in Russian and I can assure you that not much has changed in Russia since I left the country 34 years ago. The same lies and the same hatred to the West dominate Russian programs. Their aggressive foreign policy didn't change a bit since Stalin'e time, as they showed by invading Georgia. They support the most despicable regimes like Venezuela, Iran and Cuba. Unfortunately, today West's primary concern is Muslim terrorism and Iranian nuclear ambitions. Russia, an aggressive dictatorship, armed with more than 2000 nuclear bombs, most darkest and mystical form of Christian ideology-Orthodox Christianity which replaced communism, and hatred to every idea of Western civilization, became forgotten and therefore very dangerous enemy.

I was of the opinion that in Russia communism had failed and that the country had made a cursory move toward democracy.

Having been to both Moscow and St Petersburg, I have seen affluent Hollywood style housing estates which reflect a capitalist lifestyle and utter destitution of people squatting in tenement buildings which are literally collapsing around them. Hawkers were selling heaps of soviet military uniforms, badges, weapons and vehicles which represented to me the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As Obama says, is “Russia is equal to the USA” where there is wealth, no wealth and nothing in the middle.

However Leonid, there were clear observations of the remnants of communism. No advertising in the underground but KGB insignia still on the walls, propagandists puffing up the government and a mere lick of paint over deteriorating grand old buildings represented recovery. Collapsed tunnels being closed instead of repaired. Trams with wooden doors. No car parks in city shopping areas because there were no cars. No industry (no smoke from factories and although there were many cranes dotted about not one of them was working)

So what is Russia today? A dictatorship under Putin?

"Russia enacts power to prosecute "Thought Crime""

Sandy, these are very old news. Russia has official institutions to prosecute “thought crime” since Peter the Great and unofficially she did it even before. Whoever believes that any change happened in Russia during last 25 years simply deceives himself.