Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

WikiLeaks cables: Solzhenitsyn praise for Vladimir Putin
UK Guardian ^ | 12/2/10 | Luke Harding

Posted on 09/21/2013 3:02:10 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper

Nobel prize-winning writer claimed just before his death that leader was helping nation rediscover what it was to be Russian

Four months before his death Alexander Solzhenitsyn offered qualified praise for Vladimir Putin, arguing that he was doing a better job as Russia's leader than Boris Yeltsin or Mikhail Gorbachev.

The US ambassador, William Burns, visited Solzhenitsyn in April 2008 at his dacha outside Moscow. He then sent a cable to Washington giving his impressions of the Nobel-prize winning writer who was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974 and returned to Russia 20 years later.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: freedom; legacy
I know this is a dated article, but Solzhenitsyn, IIRC, was a strong critic of the Soviets, and an inspiration to Ronald Reagan.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/alexander-solzhenitsyn-set-the-stage-for-reagan-and-walesa/

1 posted on 09/21/2013 3:02:10 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Thanks SoFloFreeper.
Solzhenitsyn offered qualified praise for Vladimir Putin, arguing that he was doing a better job as Russia's leader than Boris Yeltsin or Mikhail Gorbachev.
Solzhenitsyn wanted a return of the monarchy, so this makes sense.


2 posted on 09/21/2013 4:23:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's no coincidence that some "conservatives" echo the hard left.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SoFloFreeper

It’s amazing how this entire world has turned upside down in just a few short decades. If you had told me in the 1980s that Solzhenitsyn would die in peace back home in Russia, I never would have believed you.


3 posted on 09/21/2013 4:25:14 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SoFloFreeper

Mikhail Gorbachev is one of the the most hated men in Russia, except for the Nazi Soros. Why do you think that Gorbachev is hiding out in the Presdio? He can’t return to his home country. The American commies, especially our Stalinist State Department, gave him a place to hide, paid for by our tax dollars.


4 posted on 09/21/2013 5:38:04 PM PDT by sergeantdave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sergeantdave
I think he went back, too. Article says he was hospitalized in June 2013 outside Moscow.

Russia's Gorbachev hospitalized in Moscow

I got to wondering and looked it up the other day but couldn't remember where I found that he'd gone back.

5 posted on 09/21/2013 6:25:30 PM PDT by Aliska
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Aliska

“I think he went back, too. Article says he was hospitalized in June 2013 outside Moscow.”

If true, that’s surprising. Gorby was a teetotaler nazi freak and tried to omit vodka from the Russians’ diet. He stripped the shelves of vodka. People were drinking rubbing alcohol and deisel fuel to get their alcohol fix. Lots of people died. Russians hated Gorby with a passion, probably as much as they hated Hitler. He barely got out of Russia alive with his scalp intact.


6 posted on 09/21/2013 6:40:08 PM PDT by sergeantdave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: sergeantdave
I'm guessing he went back under the radar. I remember he was in grave danger when he escaped; first I believe his wife died from the stress of soldiers keeping them prisoners for a short time in the Crimea.

Didn't know about the vodka. Russians drink way too much, and it's taken its toll on their productivity and culture, as well as other social ills. Male life span is around 50 (I'm not sure that's true in all provinces).

But when you have a bunch of alcoholics (like the Prohibition), that's what they did drink all that toxic stuff.

I didn't know he was a Nazi freak but it creeped me out when I turned on the TV one morning and see him standing with the pope. That scar was strange. But lots of things are strange and don't mean anything sinister. Made me mad when they gave him the Presidio for some pet project. Probably left a big footprint there, off limits for Americans I'll wager.

7 posted on 09/22/2013 8:54:04 AM PDT by Aliska
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson