I believe the way you feel migh also be somewhat due to a lack of exposure to the environment in which Russians live. While I'm not Russian and have never been to Russia, I do come from Eastern Europe, so a former communist country, and I now live in the West.
There are just so many things one takes for granted in Western democracies which are just not so in a place like Russia. Nothing really works as it should, not public institutions, not private institutions, army, judges or anything else.
Throughout my life I've seen plenty of things which I thought were normal at the time, but make me cringe now. A few brief examples, I can expand on all of them:
- policemen bribed with a raw steak out of the trunk
- doctors who wouldn't treat you without a bribe
- teachers who'd fail unless you went for "private tutoring"
- whole neighbourhoods built without a permit
- nepotism in public/private institutions to the point where whole departments are basically just friends/family
- public/private jobs which are only available for a fee to the right person (e.g. in order to become a nurse, you need to pay X 2000 EUR)
- skipping queues/processes (e.g. getting a passport) by bribes or knowing the right person
- faking official documents in pretty much any circumstance if it's easier for any party involved
- many others that I can't think of right now
In these places everything is solved with a small bribe. It's required and expected and just the way it works. Things have changed since the EU and all, but everyone who grew up in Eastern Europe knows what I'm talking about.
So while I expected the Russian army to be more capable, hearing that they're selling petrol out of their vehicles and don't know how to operate their tanks doesn't even make me raise an eyebrow.
Ukraine is just as corrupt as any other post-Soviet/Eastern European country, but they've got multiple things on their side.
It's easier to defend than attack, it's easier to defend with gigantic Western support via weapons and information, Ukrainians actually understand what they're fighting for and so on.
I was recently back home in my Eastern European country and saw LOADS of young Ukrainian men in flashy cars driving through my city, while men are supposedly not allowed to leave the country.
If you mean degrading into authoritarian state without any opposition, with absurd level of censorship and general gaslighting of population - then yes.
There are just so many things one takes for granted in Western democracies which are just not so in a place like Russia. Nothing really works as it should, not public institutions, not private institutions, army, judges or anything else.
Throughout my life I've seen plenty of things which I thought were normal at the time, but make me cringe now. A few brief examples, I can expand on all of them:
- policemen bribed with a raw steak out of the trunk
- doctors who wouldn't treat you without a bribe
- teachers who'd fail unless you went for "private tutoring"
- whole neighbourhoods built without a permit
- nepotism in public/private institutions to the point where whole departments are basically just friends/family
- public/private jobs which are only available for a fee to the right person (e.g. in order to become a nurse, you need to pay X 2000 EUR)
- skipping queues/processes (e.g. getting a passport) by bribes or knowing the right person
- faking official documents in pretty much any circumstance if it's easier for any party involved
- many others that I can't think of right now
In these places everything is solved with a small bribe. It's required and expected and just the way it works. Things have changed since the EU and all, but everyone who grew up in Eastern Europe knows what I'm talking about.
So while I expected the Russian army to be more capable, hearing that they're selling petrol out of their vehicles and don't know how to operate their tanks doesn't even make me raise an eyebrow.