>Good chance it won't, but that lack of enforcing laws at the leadership level, even in Russia, creates additional resentment in top of what's already in place at the local level.

Completely agree.

Laws are just rules; rules that aren't enforced are meaningless.

And rules are also the only thing that gives leaders any power; if they don't follow the rules, no one should (following their example) and if people all stopped playing by the rules... anarchy.