It's not freer, it's different in a lot of ways, but Russia isn't LARPing all over the place as some sort of freedom authority or whatever. So to speak. Obviously, the reality is a lot more complex than that.

It's just chickens coming home to roost and the unscrupulous, naive American public still doesn't understand what hit it.

Although, tbf, all public is unscrupulous, gullible, credulous, and naive, especially when it comes to complexities of policy, politics, governance, and social issues.