In Russia, Afghanistan, and Venezuela, the laws don't seem to matter very much; if Putin or the oligarchs/warlords/chavistas want things to be a certain way, there isn't much to stop them despite laws that in theory constrain them. That's the rule of men, as opposed to the rule of law, and it's antithetical to a free society.
Not sure the rule-of-law / rule-of-men dichotomy with regards to measuring a free society is as clear cut.
Civil disobedience, corporate political spending, judicial activism, selective legal enforcement at the local level, federal/state disagreement. These are not all good or all bad things.
Laws that are written up and known ahead of enforcement, and that are enforced fairly and impartially - that's rule of law. But the laws themselves may be unjust or otherwise problematic.
That is, this is a lawful / chaotic axis, not a good / evil axis.