Orson respectfully if you have not been to Russia regularly you would not understand what is happening that are not pointed out by statistics which don't show a fuller picture. You know for example how figures like the unemployment rate and GDP can be manipulated and there is a lot of income as an example that goes unreported (but that black economy is slowing disappearing) and other factors that can make living more challenging, beneficial or different that statistics don't tell.
Corruption yes, saw plenty of that during my visits, but they have significantly diminished overtime. I could tell you tons of stories but its clear as day the days of having to openly bribe cops has long gone as an example. Key infrastructure is growing and much better quality to us in some respects (if only they could build better residential units and roads), pensions are growing higher than inflation, you get free medical care and services that are unheard of here and without the huge waiting lists and in many cases quite advanced compared to Australia depending on the region you are in. The support for families and cultural revival has become vibrant and growing from first hand experience to name a few things.
Russians are blunt and they can be very open in what they say in criticism on every aspect of life which many can see as rude here due to the cultural differences, we however are completely hamstrung by PC talk here.
The problem you are ignoring is the direction the country is going under the stewardship of Putin has been very positive in reforming the country that was a nightmare during the 90's where most people continue to believe Russia remains to this day as a dark and sinister world as an outsider view (Hopefully the world cup has made a strong impression to dispell these anarchic view). This stuff didn't go away overnight but these underlying social issues are going. The opposite can be said for Australia and the US, the social issues, divisions and corruptions are becoming more manifest. That is the key issue. Many people around the world respect Putin for that and want a leader that can change the direction of a country (you can see this from many polls), you are confusing this by just taking a snapshot between two nations that have had a different past and starting point. We in Australia did not undergo a huge social turbulent period and I hope we never do.
