An inside look at Russia might cause quite a scare.  Set aside the fact that the Kremlin has adopted its own form of heavy-handed government in the past 15 years.  Jailing the country's top entrepreneurs and private owners on trumped-up charges, followed by shuttering the major news outlets throughout the land.  These aren't exactly laudable examples of a flourishing democracy in the East, let alone one of representative government.

Just recently, Russian prosecutors attacked the organizers of an art exhibition in Moscow for blasphemy. The prosecutors, who are part of a group of religious militant fundamentalists, are challenging the dynamic in Russia; from between a more militant church ruled state to a more secular one. The accused are looking at possibly facing three years of jail time for their exploits in creative freedom due to the offense of “debasing the religious beliefs of citizens and inciting religious hatred”. Although one would expect this activity to go on in developing countries, and the West hundreds of years ago, it does strike fear that a supposed world power would still be engaging in this type of activity in modern times.