They returned over 25 years ago and we know about the propensity to torture from the East German archives. My family was mostly in East Germany and Czech Republic, behind the Wall. They were pretty terrible, but Russia has always been much worse.

Putin was in Berlin for the KGB, remember? That's why he speaks fluent German. He didn't become a different person, just because they elected him to President. They literally elected a Soviet spook and he's been in charge for nearly a quarter century. Russia doesn't have real elections, just coronations.

It's a shithole. It's always been a shithole.