[golergka]

> I suspect in most states, you go in to vote, your name is crossed off a list, you're assigned a hash

I don't know about US, but I once knew a programmer who worked on russian voting system.

I honestly don't think that he was qualified enough to know what "hash" is.

[pavel_lishin]

Given that it's a Russian voting system, I'm not sure that this is unintentional.

[golergka]

Stupidity, not malice.

In my observer experience, the higher the official, the less interested he was in falsifications; it was the lowest ranks that wanted to prove that their areas are loyal with any means necessary, while the higher-ups wanted to avoid the embarrassment and didn't worry much about the outcome, since population's loyalty is pretty sincere, thanks to the propaganda machine.

[hackuser]

> since population's loyalty is pretty sincere, thanks to the propaganda machine

Or is that we believe the population is loyal, because of the propaganda machine's affect on us?

[golergka]

Take my word for it, the propaganda machine lies about a lot of things, but unfortunately, it isn't one of them.

"Evil government oppressing discontent population" is a nice trope, but the reality is more grim.

[hackuser]

> Take my word for it

I don't think I will in this case. How do you know? I have yet to see any reliable data supporting it, and many dictators have claimed overwhelming public support with polls and elections to match.

I'm not sure how anyone could reliably poll Russian citizens. Who would dare say something negative about Putin? How do you know you can trust the interviewer? How could you rely on anyone keeping your opinion secret from the intelligence services? How much risk are you willing to take for something as trivial as answering a survey? What polling service would dare publish a negative result for Putin?

[golergka]

Lived there for almost all my life, among well-educated, well informed people mostly — and still depressingly big amount of them are sincere in their support.

You know why I despise the western anti-establishment activists who are afraid of US and Europe turning into totalitarian regimes? Because they have a very naive image of what totalitarian state is and how it starts. Today's Russia didn't start in former KGB or in government offices; it started in Stalin-loving hutjob papers. It started with ideology, and that ideology filled a vacuum that the cleptocratic elites desperately needed.

If you fear for your country's future, know that a self-serving capitalist asshole is not nearly as dangerous as a sincere actuvist who really wants to make the world a better place.