Of course there is corruption, of course some are above the law (but then is true the world over), and you need to play by the local rules, but that is not an absence of protection, although it may not be on par with what you might expect somewhere else.
You also have to remember that the justification for the Russian invasion of Crimea was to protect the minority Russian population living in Crimea. So clearly the idea that the Russian government protects Russians is believed to be true within the state of Russia to the point where that idea can be exploited to justify military expansionism.
We really need to get past the 'good guy' / 'bad guy' version of politics, the whole world is a shade of grey.
[0] https://www.statista.com/topics/5509/crime-in-russia/#dossie...