How were dissidents treated differently in the Soviet Union than in Western democracies'

While dissidents in Western democracies were not always treated well or legally, especially communist sympathizers during the Cold War, dissidents in the Soviet Union were treated much worse.

Democracies generally have legislation protecting the expression of free speech, including criticism of the government. In the Soviet Union, the opposite was essentially true. Dissidents were considered enemies of the State and subject to internment, jailing, expulsion from the country, and often death.

The intensity of the suppression of dissent varied during the history of the Soviet Union, with Stalin one of the most brutal rulers and Gorbachev one of the most lenient.