I just listened to a discussion of Russian atrocities on MSNBC and one that was mentioned was the

[paleotn]

16. A rather barbaric way of fixing Russia's demographic spiral.

And since when has Russia, in its various forms, ever given a shit about basic human rights? Like never.

It seems the evolution of liberalism (inalienable rights, equality under the law, etc.) just never took in Russia like it did the West for various reasons. The Russian view of such things seems stunted. If you look at it from the view that Russian government is still a medieval regime, their actions begin to make sense. This is something you'd not be surprised of from Ivan the Terrible. They've not evolved much beyond that.