In a lawless and consequently weak state, man is defenceless and unfree. The stronger the state, the freer the individual.

Vladimir Putin, 'Open Letter to Russian Voters', 25 February 2000

The answer to 'where have we heard that before?' is usually: 'in Russia.' The notion of despotism masquerading as liberation was part of the Victorian liberal stereotype of tsardom. It was remembered outside Russia throughout the Soviet epoch, even while the idea was expressed in Marxist-Leninist terms. When Solzhenitsyn criticised the permissiveness he found in Western society, Enoch Powell growled: 'No Englishman needs to take lessons in freedom from a Russian.'

LRB 20 May 2004 | PDF Download