Putin's Regime Compared to Soviet Cheka, Historian Says It's More Brutal (euobserver.com)

• Putin rehabilitates Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Cheka.
• Citizen sentenced to 13 years for bus stop graffiti.
• Historian says Putin's methods are historically familiar but more brutal in some ways.

"Russian historian Sergei Lukashevsky argues Putin's government adopts brutal Soviet-era methods, rehabilitating Felix Dzerzhinsky and harshly punishing dissent, with sentences like 13 years for graffiti. He claims the regime is in some ways even more brutal than the Cheka."