Совсем недавно думал о феодальном характере устройства российского государства и общества. И вот как по заказу:

The nature of Russian governance has moved on somewhat since the 16th century. But one thing has remained the same: post-Soviet Russia is a profoundly feudal society. I don’t mean that as a generalised insult denoting ignorance and backwardness. I mean really feudal, in its most literal sense. Feudalism is the exchange of service for protection. In the absence of functional legal or law enforcement systems, people’s only real protection lies in a network of personal and professional relationships with powerful individuals. And so it is in Russia today — for every member of society with something, however small, to lose, from a market stall owner to the nation’s top oligarchs. Your freedom from arbitrary arrest, fraudulent expropriation and extortion by bureaucrats is only as good as your connections.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/5686623/theres-something-rotten-in-the-state-of-russia.thtml

Как и века назад, феодальный характер сложившихся отношений неизбежно вступает в противоречие с идеями развития. Разрешение этого противоречия может принимать самые радикальные формы, о которых даже думать не хочется.