This tickled something in my brain, and I finally figured out what: Последний кольценосец

The Last Ringbearer is a 1999 fantasy fan-fiction book by the Russian paleontologist Kirill Yeskov. It is an alternative account of, and an informal sequel to, the events of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. […]

Critics have stated that the book is well-known to Tolkien fans in Russia, and that it provides an alternate take on the story. Scholars have variously called it a parody and a paraquel. They have interpreted it as a critique of totalitarianism, or of Tolkien's anti-modern racial and environmental vision coupled with a destruction of technology which could itself be called totalitarian. The book contains sections of Russian history, and while it says little directly on real-world politics, it can be read as an ironic riposte to American exceptionalism. In 2001 the book earned the Strannik Literary Award in the "Sword in the Stone" (Fantasy) nomination.

Hobbits can better resist the One Ring because they operate within a greater evil.

Aragorn EleSSar

Oh god, I could make a really sectarian take right now, but I can't

It was not just any honey-pot. It was a Fed honey-pot, and that meant comfort.

Thing is, the Shire was a hereditary monarchy, they just didn't call their ruler a king - it was Thane. Pippin was in line for and did eventually inherit the title.

There's also Buckland, the small offshoot of the Shire ruled by the Master of Buckland, and of course this title was inherited by Merry.

Also, the Sacksville Baggins' were jerks

I'm a little more sympathetic to the Hobbits. Here you had a stable kin-based society in a part of the world that nobody cared about until some Fed from a far off Western Superpower (that destroyed an entire continent and sunk another island nation under the sea, mind you) is meddling around.

the ringwraiths are the cia

Gondor had kings, they just hadn't had one in a long time because they thought the line died out. That's why Denethor sits next to the throne and not on it, he was just the Steward. As Isildur's heir, Aragorn had the "rightful claim" to the throne. It's actually encouraging that he waited until after the evil threat was destroyed to take power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oXiFuPCU6k

Who the fuck names their kid Epidiah?

Hmm. IMO it's kind of weird to assume all hobbits were ideologically identical. They clearly didn't establish a completely anarchist society for themselves, but there was also a lot of resistance to and outright ignoring of authority among them. They didn't really give a shit if they were technically under the rule of some empire, and at least some of them didn't seem to give a shit about what the Mayor had to say. I don't think we got much of an insight into their economic relations.

It's true the ones who went adventuring were—or turned into—some pretty gross bootlickers, though.