Russian Human Rights Commissioner: Russia Not Totalitarian

Would a totalitarian country have a human rights commissioner, he asks. QED.

Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin has disagreed with assessments describing Russia's political system as totalitarian. "It is not right to say that our country is totalitarian. The fact that we are sitting here, speaking and I am answering your questions confirms that we have the press and freedom," Lukin told journalists on Thursday.

He, however, admitted that Russia's human rights record is not ideal. "The situation with human rights is not good anywhere. It is necessary to try to improve this situation. We still have scores of problems," he said.