Posted on 10/03/2017 9:31:00 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Putin being former KGB doesn't bother me. That was his job. In the USSR, it was one of the places for people with the highest-level intellects to work. If I saw any indications of his currently being a socialist, that would bother me, but I do not. He is not part of the global socalist agenda, but rather stands opposed to it.
Regarding corruption, there is no way to deny it, there is enormous corruption in Russia. However, the rise of the oligarchs (and their theft of resources) pre-dated Putin, and can mostly be attributed to Yeltin's lack of attention/drunkenness. When Putin came to power, he had to control the oligarchs in order to get things done, and one of the ways that happened was an understanding that they will continue to get their cuts (but on Putin's terms). Most agree that if Putin hadn't done this, he never would have been able to become a significant force in Russia. Distasteful as this type of arrangement is, it came from a place of pragmatism.
As to your last question, no, I absolutely do not fear Russian swallowing Eastern Europe. This is a NATO-warmonger's pipe dream. Also, no you cannot compare to Crimea. Putin made the right call in Crimea. You or I would probably have made exactly the same call if put into the position. He was never going to let the USA get access to the deep-water port at Sevastopol, and the fact that the population overwhelmingly supported joining Russia made the decision easy. The Crimean people got the best deal of all, they are all Russian citizens now, and their former countrymen in Eastern Ukraine belong to one of the bottom ten poorest countries on the planet. Not a hard decision.
Finally, you use Russophile like it is supposed to be an insult...I'm not sure if I would call myself a "Russophile", but I am a natural born American (life-long Republican who voted for Trump) who didn't speak a second language until the age of 23. Right now I live in southern Russia with my (Armenian) wife of eight years and three children. I am uniquely positioned to understand both the American and Russian perspective, both from the perspective of the popular media, and that of real citizens. For me, and most other "little guys" who have any business acumen whatsoever, this place is a capitalist's paradise.
I love the USA, and will always be a patriot first, but I see zero reason the USA and Russia need to be at odds. Russia is not the enemy anymore.
When I had money to invest in resource companies I would avoid any company like the plague that had operations or plans to operate in Russia. Fearing they would either make promises and then hand it all over to their friends, like happened to Paan American silver years back, or would simply take over your operations once they are profitable and give them to a friend of the Kremlin. In short, my thoughts were you had to be insane to invest in Russia.
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.