I was in Shakhty in 2005 and noticed how rarely I saw police. I felt very free in Russia. Once in the Moscow metro station an officer question me but walked off after seeing my passport. My beard and sunglasses made him think I was a terrorist from Chechnya. On train I went to caboose dining car for first aid after being sliced by protruding sharp metal on a door. Officer asked me to show him how and where this happened. When I showed him he promptly lost interest. In Shakhty I registered my presence at police station with a bored and grumpy dour faced officer who then dismissed me and returned to his cigarettes and coffee. He was clearly annoyed by the bother of recording my presence on a small document he had me sign. That's the extent of my police interaction in Russia. Other than those three times I never even saw police.