Nobody's saying the present US justice system is perfect, but if you seriously think it compares to Stalin's Gulags, or the psychological effects they've had even on people who weren't directly affected, you're unhinged.

Whether Putin can or will create anything comparable is open, but the historical precedent is there. And he has expressed his affection for the Soviet system on many occasions, calling its demise one of the 'greatest tragedies of the 20th century'.