Why has there been no real freedom of press in countries like China and Russia

[Hardkill]

The constitution of Russia was supposed to grant freedom of speech and press for its people, but of course the reality is that hardly any Russian citizen has any true freedom of speech and press. Likewise, the constitution of China was supposed to grant freedom of speech and press for its people, but obviously the reality is that there is very limited freedom of speech and press for all Chinese citizens.

Do the people of Russia and the people of China not really care about having any kind of freedom speech that 1st world countries have?

[puporing]

You can "construct" any high ideals you want but if people's level of consciousness isn't there it's not gonna work out that way and will always fall short and/or get corrupted. So the solution (permanent) is to raise level of consciousness. 

[Roy]

Both those countries conquered a lot of land and peoples over their history to be the size they are now, and to control it they had to take more of an iron fist approach. They couldn't exactly afford to maintain their countries by giving their own people a lot of freedoms, and allowing every ethnicity feeing it has it's own sense of autonomy, or those countries would fracture with separatist movements and those in power would lose their power (which of course those with power hate).

Meanwhile historically nations like France and Britain, and even the US have done extremely well and had the luxury of giving freedom of speech because they are quite ethically homogenous, though sometimes they achieved that through brutal means.

29 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

Do the people of Russia and the people of China not really care about having any kind of freedom speech that 1st world countries have?

A lot of Russians and Chinese I'm sure in this day and age with the internet are aware of how shit a hand they've been dealt when they look at the rest of the world, but it's not exactly easy to change things with such oppressive governments. And it's not exactly easy to just pack up and leave either.

[Hardkill]

29 minutes ago, Roy said:

Both those countries conquered a lot of land and peoples over their history to be the size they are now, and to control it they had to take more of an iron fist approach. They couldn't exactly afford to maintain their countries by giving their own people a lot of freedoms, and allowing every ethnicity feeing it has it's own sense of autonomy, or those countries would fracture with separatist movements and those in power would lose their power (which of course those with power hate).

Meanwhile historically nations like France and Britain, and even the US have done extremely well and had the luxury of giving freedom of speech because they are quite ethically homogenous, though sometimes they achieved that through brutal means.

A lot of Russians and Chinese I'm sure in this day and age with the internet are aware of how shit a hand they've been dealt when they look at the rest of the world, but it's not exactly easy to change things with such oppressive governments. And it's not exactly easy to just pack up and leave either.

I understand why those two countries had to be authoritarian 100-200 years ago and I am not expecting these countries to become democracies within the foreseeable future. 

Also, the US has actually always been one of the most ethnically heterogeneous countries in the world.

But why did US already granted full freedom of speech and press right around the beginning of the 1800s and throughout the entire 19th century, America had actually much less developed technology, lower level of access to quality education, and poorer economic living conditions per capita than citizens in Russians and citizens in China in the late 1900s and 2000s have had?

I am kind of surprised that there haven't already been some kind of mass revolt or widespread protesting for freedom of press and expression on all of the corruption that they have in their countries.

Btw, allowing greater freedom of the press and speech provides government leaders the honest feedback and knowledge they need to improve their leadership capabilities. Why do you think that Putin has been constantly misinformed by everyone working for him and by the media in Russia? Because of how authoritarian Putin has gotten, all of his advisers and the media in Russia are all too afraid to tell him 'full truth' about the numerous failures his military has made and the mistakes that he and his military have made in their war against Ukraine.

[BlueOak]

On 6/30/2022 at 5:53 AM, Roy said:

And it's not exactly easy to just pack up and leave either.

Although moving countries is difficult for anyone. Is this more true in Russia and China? I honestly have no idea, I assume wages are generally lower so money is harder to save for a large move but beyond that?