[noahr]

If you think journalists in the U.S. never write anything worth killing for then you're reading the wrong sources. You're also confusing commentary and journalism -- opinion is not the same as uncovering the truth in situations where people are trying to hide it from the public. What's more, you blame "provincial lords" for the killings, but the police and government there are not doing anything to stop them either.

[asdflkj]

I'm not gonna write any more about Russia, because it's probably impossible for someone in a society based on large, reliable (if not always good) institutions to understand a society based on a much larger number of smaller, less stable, and less well-integrated institutions, like Russia. On top of that, Russia's smartest and most ambitious people don't have the option of going into some technical field or academia, because that just doesn't provide a comfortable life. So they aim for power, and as a result the game of power is much more complicated than e.g. in America. For anyone interested in Russia, I suggest looking at more basic things, like what life is like for the average Russian. Actually it's probably a good idea for approaching any society--to try to understand culture first, and politics last.

I want to ask, though--what are the right sources?

[vetinari]

That's because in this part of world, the "provincial lords" are the police and local government.