I understand, you literally don't know what else to say, so you have to at least attempt to say something that you think might sound witty.

A pity. Not that I blame you in any way, it's the educational system I blame.

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And yes, compared to Imperial Russia that was a Near-Absolute Monarchy with an Hereditary Emperor whose imperial style/form of address was "Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias" the Soviet Union was a beacon of progressiveness.