Posted on 08/02/2014 11:59:42 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The confusion surrounding the war in Gaza and the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine should not obscure the fact that we have at last come face to face with the real Vladimir Putin. And it is not a pretty sight.
The evidence is overwhelming that the fighting between Ukrainian forces and those of Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is the result of an overt Russian attempt to destabilize Ukraine and bring down its government. It is that interference that brought Russian surface-to-air missiles into eastern Ukraine, which subsequently brought down the Malaysian airplane. The blame for this tragedy lies squarely with Russian President Putin, who cannot bring himself to recognize that Ukraine, a former Russian province, is an independent country. His gut instincts are not so much those of a former KGB agent in the defunct Soviet empire, but those of an old-fashioned Russian nationalist, supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, who believes in the moral superiority of Holy Mother Russia and its destiny to rule. Putin uses the tools of the 21st century, but he is rooted in the 19th. It is also clear that his crude nationalism appeals to the Russian people, humbled and humiliated for more than 20 years by the collapse of the Soviet Union. For the moment, he is their hero.
More than the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, Putin has destroyed Russia’s chance to become a genuine democracy in the wake of the communist collapse in 1991. It is true that the chaos that prevailed in Russia under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin shattered the hopes of many Russians that their country could become as prosperous and genuinely democratic as their neighbors in Western Europe. Instead, the knives and claws came out by well-placed individuals, the so-called oligarchs, who seized control of the commanding heights of the economy, and thus of the government itself, for their own personal gain, turning Russia into a giant kleptocracy. Putin, who had risen to become mayor of St. Petersburg, was handpicked by Yeltsin to succeed him in the hopes of restoring some kind of order to the chaos that had laid waste to the land. Instead, Putin has created a land of smoke and mirrors, lies and deceit. And he is surrounded by some of the same oligarchs who rose to power under Yeltsin.
It is a story of immense cynicism. Lying has become Putin’s, and thus Moscow’s, first line of defense, just as it was in the days of the Soviet Union. Truth has no value, unless, on the odd occasion, it serves the interest of the Kremlin. The various stories put out by Moscow surrounding the shooting down of the Malaysian plane, as well as the violence in eastern Ukraine, are not so much to tell a definitive story but to cast doubt on everybody else’s story, thus shielding to an extent Moscow itself. It is a sophisticated propaganda technique, especially as television and most of the media in Russia are state controlled. Russian state television for days told a story about a 3-year-old boy crucified in Kiev, his mother dragged through the streets by the fascist Ukrainian government. The story was a total fabrication, but it was enough to revive Russian memories of the invading Nazi army in 1941 and its cruelty to the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. As a result, Putin’s popularity soared. There are no stories other than those told by Moscow. Welcome to the clouded world of deception, the world of Putin. Under his leadership, Russia has become not only a kleptocracy but a mendocracy.
Western Europe is closely tied to Russia economically, especially in the matter of gas and oil. In fact, the surge in Russia’s economy under Putin has to do with the export of energy to Europe, and it is this economic success that underpins his popularity. This week, the European Union finally got its act together over the imposition of new and tougher sanctions against Russia, including gas and oil, as long as it continues to interfere in Ukraine. Russia, in turn, has threatened a rise in the price of those exports. The key question: Will Putin risk the sale of gas and oil, on which the Russian economy is overwhelmingly dependent, to pursue his policy of interference in Ukraine? Common sense would tell us no. But then Putin is an ideologue, and common sense might not apply. If he fails, he will fail big, and in this case, the Russian people might not prove to be so forgiving.
How about worrying about the “real” Barack Hussein Muhammad Obama, Jr.?
Well said. And like the Soviet Union, Russia can be stopped by a determined US and Europe but there seems to be no such stoppage on the horizon. Obama will not take the lead and with America off the world cop beat, the world simmers and boils.
So, how is that Obama “Soft Power” diplomacy working out?
So we ignore the rest of the world?
Just what do you suggest we do about Dear Leader?
Maybe we could hold demonstrations and get him removed.
Oh wait, that was a coup when the Ukrainians did it to their corrupt turd of a leader...
On August 04, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma,
(Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia:
In Russia, live like Russians.
Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, it should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws.
If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslims, then we advise them to go to those places where that’s the state law.
Russia does not need Muslim minorities.
Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell ‘discrimination’.
We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture.
We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation.
The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not take over Russia.
The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of Sharia Law and Muslims.
When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the Russian national interest first, observing that the Muslims Minorities Are Not Russians.
The politicians in the Duma gave Putin a five minute standing ovation.
Vlad can pretty much do as he pleases.
?
Thanks Tailgunner Joe. Your posts on Putin have been a refreshing change from the previous steady pro-commie/pro-Putin drumbeat around here.
You can tell a lot about a man by who their enemies are.
Some people are so obsessed with Bathhouse Barry that they don't think America has any other enemies.
On the other hand, people who have brains know that KGB Putin, the terrorist behind Iran, North Korea, the Castro brothers, Mugabe, Omar al-Bashir, Hizballah and HAMAS, is America's most dangerous and deadly enemy in the world.
When we take America back from the Kenyan usurper, and elect a real American as President, then we will stand up as a nation against our Russian enemies, and we will destroy the genocidal Putin regime.
Loudmouth Putin lovers aren’t going to do anything about Obama. They love Obama because he offers them the perfect excuse to hate the USA and support our enemies. What they really don’t want is a Republican President because then we would confront our Russian enemies with force.
Our most dangerous enemy sits in the executive mansion. Vladimir Putin would be a minor irritant were it not for who occupies the presidency. You not being able to see that is very strange.
Russia is like a WWII vet suffering from PTSD which cannot adapt from soldiering back to normal business life, and apparently Putin likes to exploit and abuse that soldier’s dysfunction for his own personal conquests.
Anytime you want to meet in person, you let me know.
I am not afraid of threats from stupid thugs.
That is an internet hoax. He never held such speech and his real speeches are very far from such sentiment.
Well, then when a “stupid thug” threatens you, you’ll be all set, won’t you? Do you have any idea what the word “genocide” means? It’s “the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.” Where has Russia done that since the fall of the Soviet Union? Provably.
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