The presidential elections in Ukraine last Sunday (March 31) were derided, denigrated and ridiculed by Russian propaganda, but they still marked a striking contrast with the severely controlled politics in Russia. In an odd historical coincidence, the last meaningful and even fateful elections Russia saw happened exactly 30 years ago, when Mikhail Gorbachev, driven by a desire to modernize the sclerotic state, opened up the super-rigid Soviet system – only to find it crashing down around him less than three years later (Novaya Gazeta, March 25). His modern-day successor, Russian President Vladimir Putin secured a new term in the Kremlin for himself a year ago, in a crudely manipulated electoral farce.