I try judging it but ESL beat me.

That said, authoritarian (not totalitarian) regimes do allow some degree of criticism, so long as you don't critique system itself. "Blame the boyars not the Tsar" we see on Rusdia today is one example, but you can find different degrees of acceptable critique among all autocracies

Not with a megaphone.

Can't speak for China, but it is true for Russia. Gathering of more than three people without prior approval are a criminal act and people obviously do get locked up for public protests, especially mass protests, but it's usually the organizers. For everyone else, they will get what is called a "protocol" written on them, which usually results in a fine, but will also lead to expulsion from school and if you work for a government org (which something like 30% of Russians do) further disciplinary action up to loss of employment. Russia learned a lot from the SU in that you really don't want to crack down on everyone, because at some point the bureaucrats themselves will stop following orders. You just have to target enough people with enough prominence to make sure that if people complain they do so without any kind of organization.

Bro go on Russian 4chin now and see their threads on the war its 90% doomers, their mil bloggers post doomer post under real names, its not north korea I doubt many countries would actually allow that many people who get to travel with national army to write suck bleak accounts of the war.