If you can't spot the "deep state" or the "swamp" in another country, how can you do it for the US?

[ck4829]

Putin and his United Russia party is the deep state, it is the swamp in Russia.

There is no getting around that.

Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 0/4 (No.)

President Putin’s 2018 reelection campaign benefited from advantages including preferential media treatment, numerous abuses of incumbency, and procedural irregularities during the vote count. His most influential rival, Aleksey Navalny, was disqualified before the campaign began due to a politically motivated criminal conviction, creating what the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) called “a lack of genuine competition.” The funding sources for Putin’s campaign were also notably opaque.

Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant election management bodies? 0/4 (No.)

Russia’s electoral system is designed to maintain the dominance of United Russia. The authorities make frequent changes to electoral laws and the timing of elections in order to secure advantages for their preferred candidates. Opposition candidates have little chance of success in appealing these decisions, or in securing a level playing field. In 2020, Putin signed a law permitting the use of electronic voting across Russia, raising concerns about the security and secrecy of ballots in the 2021 Duma polls and other future elections. Also that year, the president signed a law allowing a three-day voting period in future elections; critics argued that the expanded timeframe increased officials’ ability to manipulate electoral outcomes.

Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? 0/4 (No.)

Russia has never experienced a democratic transfer of power between rival groups. Putin, then the prime minister, initially received the presidency on an acting basis from the retiring Boris Yeltsin at the end of 1999. He served two four-year presidential terms from 2000 to 2008, then remained the de facto paramount leader while working as prime minister until he returned to the presidency in 2012, violating the spirit if not the letter of the constitution’s two-term limit. A 2008 constitutional amendment extended presidential terms to six years, and a 2020 amendment allowed Putin to run for an additional two terms, meaning he could remain in office until 2036.

https://freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2022

How can you look at these things and NOT say "I dunno. Sounds pretty deep state-y to me"?

And yet...

[Walleye]

1. It's not even a deep state, whatever that is. It's an international criminal gang