The Bad Old Days

Hey, I've seen this movie:

It was like the first day of summer camp at this lakeside resort, but the scrubbed young campers in T-shirts and casual clothes had more than beadwork and canoeing on their minds.

Ten thousand young "commissars" — a title borrowed from the Communist Party leaders of the Soviet era — came here to learn to be Russia's next generation of tycoons and political leaders. Equally important, they came to prepare to stamp out any challenge from opposition groups to President Vladimir Putin's government.

All were summoned by Nashi, a pro-Kremlin organization that pays homage to Mr. Putin and seeks to promote Russia's resurrection as a superpower capable of frustrating what leaders call Western "imperialism."

We know that Putin's love affair with all things Soviet knows no bounds, but even this seems extreme:

Clad in red T-shirts, the commissars ran to classes in groups wearing name badges with electronic chips that monitored attendance. Skipping lectures was punishable by expulsion — as was drinking alcohol, cursing and unsanctioned fraternization.

Uh...yeah.

Cult of personality? Check. Vibrant use of socialist colors? Check. Use of education camps in order to indoctrinate youth? Check. This does not look like anything that is going to end well for a free Russian society...