Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
That's Benjamin Franklin
freedom > security
I think it should be freedom = security. I live in a country which has received independence from USSR in 1990. After that, people were demanding complete freedom. That freedom was mostly used by criminals, mafias and other not-so-good people to silence others. Thank god that time is over now.
I live in a country which became independent from USSR in 1989 and I know what you are talking about but you are looking at it from a wrong perspective.
There was more freedom but too many people (many with ties to the former communist system) had too much power amplified by the backing of the state. Add corruption, cronyism, nepotism and ambiguous laws to that and you get lots of theoretical freedom but also harsh, insecure reality.
One could set up a big successful import-export business because there was demand for it and become a billionair but someone else could try a similar endeavour, fail and end up in prison because his competitor was friends with a prosecutor or with one of the many intelligence agencies. Not sure about your country but at least that is how it was in mine.