It is the sentence compared to other people convicted that I'm interested in. I believe Binman posted something to the effect that the sentence is way out of line for the amount she had, but I may have read it wrong. I find it hard to believe that Russia would be interested in incarcerating tons of people for miniscule amounts of hash/weed, but would be more interested in collecting a fine in most cases.
They are now very similar incarcerations' rates but you can see from the info below Russia is coming WAY down from 527 per 100k in 2011 to 328 in 2021.
The incarceration rate in Russia, calculated as the prison population per 100 thousand people, was observed at 328.1 on January 31, 2021, marking a decline compared to the previous year. In 2011, the rate was significantly higher, measuring at 527.
the current US incarceration rate
358 per 100,000 U.S. residents
The combined state and federal imprisonment rate for 2020 (358 per 100,000 U.S. residents) represented a decrease of 15% from 2019 (419 per 100,000 U.S. residents) and a decrease of 28% from 2010 (500 per 100,000 U.S. residents) (figure 1).Dec 31, 2021