"Те, кто готов отказаться от существенной свободы, чтобы купить немного временной безопасности, не заслуживают ни свободы, ни безопасности."

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

So goeth a purported quote from Benjamin Franklin which made the blogosphere rounds during the George W. Bush era. We may never know how many terror attacks (if any) were foiled by the controversial PATRIOT Act, but one thing is for certain: Russia’s authoritarian security state failed spectacularly when Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall was targeted on Friday:

Less than a week ago, Russia President Vladimir Putin claimed a fifth term with his highest-ever share of the vote, using a stage-managed election to show the nation and the world that he was firmly in control.

Just days later came a searing counterpoint: His vaunted security apparatus failed to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years.

Friday’s assault, which killed at least 133 people at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, was a blow to Putin’s aura as a leader for whom national security is paramount. That is especially true after two years of a war in Ukraine that he describes as key to Russia’s survival — and wh…