Yes and believe me, it's better to have one id than have a pile of different id cards/utility bills/etc to prove your identity when the state needs it. Just one little story that happened to me in the UK. I did my PhD there and just settled in a small studio flat. As it turned out, the previous tenant was a naughty person who had done a lot of bad things and the police were after him. To find out if I was the person they were looking for, they came FIVE times!!! First two times they simply asked if I was the person and went away happily every time I replied "No". The third time a bunch of police officers (about 10) came on the morning Dec 25 (yes, Happy Xmas!). They said they have a search warrant. I asked what they were looking for and if I could help them. It surprised them very much and they told me that they only want to know who I was. What a relief! No drugs, no guns, just passport, visa, utility bills, student id... I gave them everything and saved a lot of their time. Do you think it's end of the story? No. A couple of weeks later to officers came again and asked who I was. "Oh, come on, not again!" I said and they somehow figured out that they were not the first ones who came to me for the same business. I gave them the papers again and they apologized. End? No! After some time two more officers came (without any search warrant) and kindly asked me what my name was... What a stupid waste of time, tax payers money, police service!
How would it be in Russia? Just one visit of a local police officer who would ask me to show him my passport (nothing else) and... end of the story! No search warrants, no police visits on Christmas morning, no wasting time and money.
Now compare the damage to you privacy. Can it be damaged more than an early visit by 10 police officers with a search warrant on Christmas morning???
For more than 30 years of living in Russia I have never been in such a rediculous situation as after several month of staying in the UK...
I lived in the USSR and may say that the book you mentioned is complete crap aimed at high sales to brainwashed western public who knows nothing about the USSR (as well as about modern Russia), apart from stupid "In Soviet Russia" jokes and lousy TV reports.
Sometimes it feels like the Cold War never ended...
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Yes and believe me, it's better to have one id than have a pile of different id cards/utility bills/etc to prove your identity when the state needs it.
Just one little story that happened to me in the UK. I did my PhD there and just settled in a small studio flat. As it turned out, the previous tenant was a naughty person who had done a lot of bad things and the police were after him.
To find out if I was the person they were looking for, they came FIVE times!!! First two times they simply asked if I was the person and went away happily every time I replied "No". The third time a bunch of police officers (about 10) came on the morning Dec 25 (yes, Happy Xmas!). They said they have a search warrant. I asked what they were looking for and if I could help them. It surprised them very much and they told me that they only want to know who I was. What a relief! No drugs, no guns, just passport, visa, utility bills, student id... I gave them everything and saved a lot of their time. Do you think it's end of the story? No.
A couple of weeks later to officers came again and asked who I was. "Oh, come on, not again!" I said and they somehow figured out that they were not the first ones who came to me for the same business. I gave them the papers again and they apologized. End? No! After some time two more officers came (without any search warrant) and kindly asked me what my name was...
What a stupid waste of time, tax payers money, police service!
How would it be in Russia? Just one visit of a local police officer who would ask me to show him my passport (nothing else) and ... end of the story! No search warrants, no police visits on Christmas morning, no wasting time and money.
Now compare the damage to you privacy. Can it be damaged more than an early visit by 10 police officers with a search warrant on Christmas morning???
For more than 30 years of living in Russia I have never been in such a rediculous situation as after several month of staying in the UK...
I lived in the USSR and may say that the book you mentioned is complete crap aimed at high sales to brainwashed western public who knows nothing about the USSR (as well as about modern Russia), apart from stupid "In Soviet Russia" jokes and lousy TV reports. Sometimes it feels like the Cold War never ended...
Why do you say so? Do you know ANYTHING about Russia? (Apart from stupid Hollywood films) and TV news?