&gt; What magic pixie dust would the Russians have to combat all this?<p>Totalitarianism, imperialistic colonialism in their immediate neighbourhood, and total disrespect for their subjects&#x27; dignity, environment and life?<p>Disappearance of Stasi and getting rid of KGB in most of the ex-SSRs (if not in Russia main) is <i>always</i> case for triumphalism. Anyway, government never is equal to the people it governs, especially when it&#x27;s doing its utmost to claim so.<p>Speaking of governmental continuity, you forgot Sweden. And about the only part of the old Russian empire Soviets (more or less by sheer luck on our part) didn&#x27;t manage to re-invade, Finland (merely politically subjugate post-WW2). Depending on how one counts these things, especially the revolution&#x2F;civil war period of 1917&#x2F;18, our parliamentary and wider governmental system could be viewed as a direct continuation of the czars&#x27; local regime. Yay for outliving?<p>Of course, even if one accepts this weird &#x27;race of continuity&#x27; viewpoint, the &#x27;uninterrupted&#x27; is quite nice technicality. Denmark, Norway or the Netherlands are still quite recognizable as the about same governmental and national entities both before and after WW2. Even France, with all its constitutional changes since Napoleon III, didn&#x27;t try such large changes at the societal level.