With the stroke of a pen, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ+ amendments banning marriage equality and transgender adoptions, and centering “a belief in God” as a core value of the country. The homophobic and transphobic amendments were passed last July in a national referendum, with over 77 percent of voters casting their ballots in support of the measures. According to a report in the AP, the new rules also reset Putin’s term limits as president, meaning he can serve an additional two six-year terms in office.
As I said, I didn't think you were trying to defend Putin. I agree that Russia's foreign policy is nuanced in the sense that they see most other countries in eastern Europe turning against them and more towards the west, so they see the need to take action.
Personally, I think the current Russian Federation would be much more imperialist if it were an actual world superpower (like the Soviet Union before it being a superpower that could be considered imperialist). However, they are not to the level of the United States, China or even the European Union currently.
Yeah. Russia is a capitalist state. The reason they are not as bad as the US is that they doesn't have the same economic and military power to be evil, not that they are inherently more moral. The Russian political system is also really dogshit nationalist and chuddy, so there is no push from that for the state not to be evil.
There's also the fact that the "democratic system" in the country is a facade.