During Soviet era corruption went so deep into Russian culture that it's hard to fix.

Actually the Soviet Union wasn't much more than the Russian Empire on new clothes. It was dominated by ethnic russians, culturally and socially, and collapsed when their percentage fell below 50% and they weren't able to hold on to their realm anymore. See for instance the ammount of ethnic russians that currently make up the population of Kazakhstan, Ukraine etc. The "we are all soviets" catchphrase never really went beyond an excuse for massive, forced internal displacement of populations and pouring more russians into central asia and the baltic countries. 

Of course, as you said, that doesn't mean the Soviet Union was like the PRC today or the NS Germany.  But both the PRC and the NSG are radically different from standard western economies.It's a matter of whether corporate interests pour into state politics or the other way around. 

Agree with your statement about the USSR, that's not to say other ethnic minorities didn't hold prominant positions but yeah whenever anyone talks about the USSR the one ethnic group that springs to mind are the Russians and the all negative stereotypes such as the 'Crazy Ivan' caricature. Right wing historian Niall Ferguson believes the 20th was just one long 100 year racial war.  http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-war-of-the-world/  

I think it's the punishment that people find excessive. Likely doing something like this (even politically motivated) would net you a misdemeanor in a lot of places, but you'd get off with a fine or community service, not 7 years in jail.

BBC, CNN, NYT etc., every f**king celebrity from Madonna to Sting, everyone wants to protect poor babes from evil-doing Putin :D

I remember when this whole information wave of ROC-related news have started, eeer... IIRC it was about wristwatch the Patriarch was wearing during McFaul visit or smth? Yeah, stupid wristwatch made it to the news (not nationalwide, of course), and then shit hit the fan just after presidential elections... Chruch this, Church that, Church booo. And finally after half a year it went worlwide with central topic back to Putin, even the Pussy Riot story is like a month old, no? OMFG you'd know smth has happened when smth as negligible as Pussy Riot story went worldwide :D Not for long, I'd imagine, but still.

The issue is overly politicized, but from another side obviously. Authoroites should have just ignored the case instead of taking stupid babes into court, even if they should have. When the f**k do they learn how to avoid slippery ground?

What entertains me more is how easily people bite, you just see it by the OP reaction with far-reaching conclusions. You'd need Joel to understand what SU or Imperial Russia have smth to do with the story :D

//Oh, my, if I had a chance I'd seriously consider imigrating to Tau Ceti or Alpha Centauri, to some actually sapient lifeforms, even if due to obvious intellectual disability I'd work rest of my life as a janitor :D People, stick to the games, vote and don't bother your life with politics.

Are they sentenced already ?

Not sure, but much of the hubbub in the media i was reading was more about how they "might" get 7 years in jail for this.

Media lol

Is there anybody in the chartz from Russia

In this very thread. Check the replies.