My opinion is this:
We, unlike the russians, live in a country where we can discuss the fact our PM has broken the law, and what (if anything) the electorate would like to do about that. If debate is shut down about what the electorate think about their leaders, then we are in no better position than the russians and can't speak from any position of strength. It is only about a party on this occasion, but that does not mean we can't talk about it, it can't be reported etc otherwise where does it stop?
My opinion is also this: comparing one world situation to another is pointless. When i made my cup of morning tea, i didnt stop to think that in some parts of the world people do not have clean water, can't make a cuppa and therefore feel guilty about drinking it. Just like people shouldn't be made to feel guilty about thinking what a cluster our government are, just because someone elses govt is doing something worse