I read the first half of a biography of Peter the Great of Russia and got bogged down. There was so much corruption and jockeying for advantage that I lost my sympathy, even for the main character. He came across as trapped by his upbringing and by the rampant lawless behavior of those around him... so trapped that even when he tried to do good things, his past habits and "absolute" power led to terrible side-effects. The Law of Unintended Consequences, you know.

The people who came from other European countries (more free than Russia) were portrayed as looking down on the backward Russians and taking them for everything they could get from the Russians. The Russians naturally hated that, but didn't have the understanding of free enterprise and economics to compete effectively. Plus the government regulations!!!! At one point the peasants are shown making foot coverings out of birch bark, because they are being taxed and cheated out of literally everything. Then the boyars, the rulers, see the birch bark shoes that all the peasants wear. The boyars need more income (because of their extravagances and because they are being squeezed by others), so one of them suggests taxing the birch bark shoes! It made me want to grind my teeth.

It also opened my eyes to government regulation in the U.S. We are being slowly squeezed, to the point that eventually no one will want to start new businesses in the U.S. and successful businesses will be based elsewhere, because of the regulations. I understand that a lot of regulations are to keep us safe, to keep our food supplies uncontaminated, to prevent catastrophes, but there must be balance! If we try to legislate every little detail, fewer people will obey, compliance will go down, the cost in time and money and resources and manpower to enforce laws will go way up, and the black market (currently relatively small) will expand. Prices will go up and things we need will become unavailable, because of the costs of complying with government rules.