There is a fundamental mistake in seeing continuity here. Each monstrous government may be built on the bones and delusions of the last, but it is no more a ‘Russia’ that is responsible for these crimes than there is a ‘Germany’ which still bears the sins of the Nazis. Insofar as a people or culture may not recognize or acknowledge the sins of their forefathers, they may be lambasted for their callousness, cruelty, and stupidity; but they do not bear the guilt of the sins themselves. I find karmic talk in that context uncomfortably close to the never-ending blood feuds of opposing nationalists.