Posted on 03/21/2014 6:43:40 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
There’s not a lot to like about Vladimir Putin: he’s autocratic, vain and runs a corrupt government. And he doesn’t give a fig for human rights. The repression in Chechnya, the jailing of the businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the Pussy Riot protestors, the murders of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and of Alexander Litvinenko, the former spy – all this happened on Putin’s watch. Who would not be on the side of the 100,000 people who turned out on Moscow’s streets last winter to protest against Putin’s election to a third term as president and to demand fair elections and an honest government? Russia would be better off without Putin – who would argue otherwise?
As a matter of fact, millions would. Talk to many Russians and they’ll tell you that life under Putin is vastly better than under Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin let a handful of oligarchs hoover up Russia’s wealth while ordinary Russians were reduced to selling their possessions on the street. Putin, by contrast, has quelled the economic mayhem – inflation is down, pensions have increased. Even more importantly he has restored Russia’s sense of self-worth – crushing the Chechen revolt, refusing to play along with the West over Syria
(Excerpt) Read more at intelligencesquared.com ...
Our president is a product of the KGB, as is the Howard Zinn- esq version of American history you just quoted. American history, and Christianity are the opposite of what you perceive.
Russia’s economy is literally based off their energy, and a lot of that money is being siphoned off by Putin and the oligarchs, and not into the regular economy. Inflation is rising, and their economy is not. Their GDP over the past year is dropping, and is expected to get even worse by 2016 due to lower oil prices expected then, assuming these latest sanctions don’t make it suddenly worse. Also, our shale boom here in Texas and other parts of the United States are going to hurt them bad too, which is why I suspect a lot of the leftwing groups (I don’t believe that the Russians stopped infiltrating and controlling leftist groups just because the soviet system, at least its outward mechanations, collapsed) fight so hard against it. Once Russia loses its edge in natural gas and oil, they don’t have much to fall back on, hence their credit rating is on par with Brazil right now.
TAKE NOTICE OF PUTIN...please!
Putin is evil.
Even the citizens of Russia I know PERSONALLY HAVE no use for him!!!
There is NO TRUTH in him: JUST “TICKLES YOUR EARs”
BEWARE! He told the Ukraine’s he would hide behind
“women & children” last week. He has been sending military across the
border to do just that. with women interspersed.
Case in point, his military surrounded a school & kindergarten His military told the Ukraine Navy if they did NOT surrender they would enter with guns.
They have kidnapped Navy Officers beaten, electric
shock, & shot them in attempt to gain military secrets.
All the while, “KGB” Putin smiles on National TV.
You might have misunderstood me --above I was simply citing an enemy narrative.
I'm a huge supporter of American Exceptionalism and the mercy inherent in Christianity.
My bad, I was about to recommend Paul Johnson’s books.
“...citing an enemy narrative...:
I thought so but you could have used another transitional/explanatory phrase or two. I make the same mistakes when posting faster than I can type.
I agree. I looked again and it really looked like I believed that cr*ppola.
And that makes Putin different from whom?
I'm curious why you most such a rhetorical question.
Do you actually think that there are Freepers here who don't think that Obama is a tyrant?
So then what's you're point.
The subject on this thread is Putin and Russia.
Nuf said.
He has restored Russian strength, prestige, pride and wealth.
Sadly, FRiend, you are channeling the wookie obama. She says near verbatim the same about the kenyan.
Putin has poise and good delivery when he speaks.
You don’t find Putin’s the over the top public displays of masculinity troubling?. That is the hallmark of a self loathing homosexual. I am afraid Putin doth protest too much about homos. He’s queer as a three dollar bill.
What Putin does in Crimea and eastern Ukraine does not threaten America’s defense and is none of our business. Furthermore, it does not bother me if Russians choose to elect a leader who is “autocratic, vain and runs a corrupt government” — that’s their affair. What IS a direct threat to America’s survival is our own “autocratic, vain” president who “runs a corrupt government” right here at home.
Obama has led America into weakness, degradation, humiliation and massive debt.
I don’t think there is a comparison. No wonder the world is laughing us.
Nowhere did I write Putin is a guy we should seek to emulate. But its true we’re nowhere close to competing with him.
When it comes to hard power vs. soft power, soft power doesn’t stand a chance.
Obama is a weak Alinskyite socialist who hates America...
Putin is a strong Soviet KGB communist who loves Russia (and the USSR...
Strong Communism “Cures” weak liberalism...
Putin wins.
If US INTEL is so AWESOME, then why are we back where we were when dealing with Stalin during WWII...always caught off guard?
I agree. There are a few of these FReepers that are long term members but who you’d think were agents of Putin; they’re so blind to the recklessness of his nationalism and his aggression, so willing to praise his crimes as works of genius, that you wonder why they think they’re conservative. Putin is a mere thug, running a crony state, with a veneer of Christianity to give himself some sheen of decency.
People like the strong horse.
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