I am a Russian who lived the first 18 years of my life in downtown Moscow; and traveled around Russia, spending a lot of time 40 miles outside of Moscow, which is a completely different experience from the thousands of brand new BMWs and Mercedes and 5-star hotels in the city.

If you come to Russia (Moscow) on a business trip, and stay in touristy business circles, you do get the impression of a fast growing megapolis with a strong middle class, and you will see prices like $6,000 a month for a one bedroom apartment. But if you please, take a trip outside of the city, or let's say for that matter -- 800 miles south. First of all, you'll get killed in a car accident, or beaten by an angry mob a few times before you get to point B; and second -- at the end of your trip you'll end up, let's say, in Grozny. Grozny is Russia, how is the middle class doing there?

Let's talk about Russia's GDP -- the Russian federal budget is 104 billion dollars a year for everything (teachers, medicine, army, etc.) Roman Abramovich alone has an estimated fortune worth $20 billion, and he is one of many oligarchs. So if you are looking at the "per capita" numbers -- you are right, things are improving. I had this argument (which I won) with professor Boatke, while speaking at a Russia event at the U.S. Capitol two years ago. If one family has 3 kids, 6 cars and hires 8 bodyguards, and owns 3 estates valued at $5,000,000 each - split even between 20 families, this income looks impressive in statistics, compared to the Soviet Union. Purchasing Power measures might make more sense than per capita GDP and median incomes, but these statistics still have little to do with reality.

Why fascism? Again, Russians like the feeling of being a superpower; much of the population thinks that all of the wealth is in the hands of "the Jews"; all the public markets are controlled by Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and Chechens; Russian 18 year old boys are forced to serve in the army; they perceive that the interests of ethnic Russians are never discussed or protected; Russia is the only state outside Africa with worse life expectancy for men than in 1960 - so what do you expect? I'm not advocating for fascism, I'm just giving you the plain facts to make up your own mind.