> by the weakest who merely got good grades

Like who? Trump?

> The winners in our system are just the ones who get everyone else to kowtow

In soviet system, connections were literally everything. Not merit, not achievement, but who you know, who is your friends, who trades favors with you.

> Like who? Trump?

Can’t be. Didn’t he graduate near the bottom of the class? And I think W also had mediocre grades. Eisenhower was in the lower half of his West Point class as well. There are probably numerous other examples of successful American politicians who were poor students. Just recently Gavin Newsome got into a bit of trouble touting his low SATs in front of a mostly black audience. There’s a longstanding anti-intellectual streak in the U.S. that politicians have been pandering to for ages.

> In soviet system, connections were literally everything

Seems like every system is like that then and not just the soviets.

I know it is off topic but I am interested in the soviet constructivist mathematics and somehow their political system fascinates me.

I mean that's just a lie. Kolmogorov didn't achieve international recognition through party connections, he received it because of his genius and accomplishments.