I was going to ask something similar. What I can think of is Poland and Hungary, potentially Belarus, maybe Turkey if you count that as European? (A very open question I think), and Russia itself.
Poland has issues, certainly. Hungary is under sanction from other parts of the EU because of Viktor Orban. Turkey has Erdogan. Belarus has been under the thumb of Lukashenko since a few years after gaining independence, and Russia is Russia but even under Putin it's probably less totalitarian than it was under communism. Honestly I think that (with the exception of that short period in the early 90s when everything looked like it was coming up roses) Europe as a whole is far less totalitarian now than it was for most of the 20th century. Certainly the decades post-WWII where communism held sway, by force, across vast swathes of the continent. Even with its current problems, Poland is far more free now than it was behind the iron curtain.
The OP posts this - "I always get the impression that political oppression was a lot worse in the past than it is now, despite how bad it may appear." which makes me think they have a very weird view and possibly not much knowledge of history. Because yes, it was far worse for far more people for a very long time.
> Poland is far more free now than it was behind the iron curtain.
it depends on what freedom you look at.
In Poland abortion has been banned, while
In 1920, the Russian Soviet Republic under Lenin became the first country in the world in the modern era to allow abortion in all circumstances
If you are a woman in Poland you're far less free now (not only because of the anti abortion laws). A friend of mine found out when she was pregnant that she had a risky medical condition and had to move to Czech Republic to be able to end her pregnancy.
In total, compared to Poland in the 1970s? I think that’s probably a discussion topic. I agree it’s not in a good place and it seems to be getting worse. As do my Polish colleagues!
It's not, because as long as they don't stop they're not getting in. Nothing indicates they are stopping, so saying it's an open question is disingenuous - we'll probably have to wait for the regime to die. Perhaps after that we can see some changes.
Poland has issues, certainly. Hungary is under sanction from other parts of the EU because of Viktor Orban. Turkey has Erdogan. Belarus has been under the thumb of Lukashenko since a few years after gaining independence, and Russia is Russia but even under Putin it's probably less totalitarian than it was under communism. Honestly I think that (with the exception of that short period in the early 90s when everything looked like it was coming up roses) Europe as a whole is far less totalitarian now than it was for most of the 20th century. Certainly the decades post-WWII where communism held sway, by force, across vast swathes of the continent. Even with its current problems, Poland is far more free now than it was behind the iron curtain.
The OP posts this - "I always get the impression that political oppression was a lot worse in the past than it is now, despite how bad it may appear." which makes me think they have a very weird view and possibly not much knowledge of history. Because yes, it was far worse for far more people for a very long time.