Posted on 07/24/2014 7:41:33 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The history of strongmen leaders helps fuel a passion for capitalism—even if there's a cost.
There he is, the President of Russia, riding bare-back and bare-chested astride a galloping steed; spending $50 billion on a resort town most Russians will never see; seizing Crimea, instigating unrest in Ukraine; maybe even making himself indirectly responsible for the murder of nearly 300 innocents aboard a downed passenger plane: Vladimir Putin, shaking his fist in the face of a West that often seems unable to do more than avert its eyes.
When we in The West do look, it can seem perplexing: How can Russians buy into such blatant bravado? How can a country that is (at least nominally) democratic support such near-authoritarian power? And why does Putin remain so popular?
“Why,” Russians might ask us in return, “do you support a system of government that is so weak?” In 2010, traveling through Russia to research a novel, I was asked this a lot...
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Reagan never had anyone killed, critical journalists and political opponents included.
And he was able to persuade with positivity, wit, and charm.
Putin does the exact opposite of Reagan.
Putin is a cold, humorless, murderous a-hole with blood-soaked hands.
Putin was never head of the KGB. The highest he ever got was Deptuty Chief of the International Affairs section at Leningrad State University. There is so much false info out there about Putin, it’s just nuts.
And just so unfair.
A mere Deputy Chief of the the ruthless KGB.
Last time I checked, the score was Reagan 1, USSR 0.
No comparison — at all — between the two.
He is nothing like Reagan as far as I am concerned
Putin has been bust trying to bring back Soviet holidays and resurrecting the love of Lenin
“Putin becoming one of the richest men on the planet”
Yet another false meme.
There is no doubt that Putin parlayed his position as the St. Petersburg Mayor’s aide, and later in the Presidential Property Management Department in Moscow into something that enriched himself and his friends, but to say he is “one of the world’s richest men” is simply false.
In the past, you have claimed he is richer than Carlos Slim.
You are correct. He was the Director of the Federal Security Service, the successor of the KGB (Committee for State Security) from 25 July 1998 to 29 March 1999, though.
Deputy chief, of a minor, backwater office.
Kinda like being the asst. manager of the CIA recruitment office at South Dakota State University.
If one believes the KGB is the moral equivalent of the CIA.
Despite appearances, Putin was stationed in Dresden during the period of Reagan’s visit in 1988.
Why would they bring a minor functionary in from Dresden for a Reagan photo-op?
You are right. It is late and I had some other things to do but I should have taken the time to check for his exact title before I posted.
But my point still stands. Putin entire career was to further the aims of the evil empire. Ronald Reagan helped bring down the evil empire. Putin worked for evil, Ronald Reagan worked against evil.
They could not have been more different.
Putin’s primary hope is that Boehner will not Impeach Obama before he can annex the North Shore of the Black Sea.
Good point. Putin needs Obama to stay in place for now.
Why did the Soviets do anything they did? And it is widely acknowledged that that is Vladimir Putin in that photo.
If the fate of the Black Sea hinges on John Boehner impeaching Barack Obama, Mr. Putin is probably already looking at yachts.
“Putin is a cold, humorless, murderous a-hole with blood-soaked hands.”
Roughly the same as our president then...so who are we to judge when we elected the guy?
You are a liar, and I do not even know who Carlos Slim is. Please post the link to where I supposedly made such a claim. With a little google search though, I did find a reference to Slim (though I still do not know him), and a list of Putin's belongings, which were more interesting:
"Putin who also once compared ruling Russia to being a ‘galley slave’ reportedly lives a ‘king-size’ lifestyle with access to Presidential perks including four grand yachts, 20 homes with opulent fittings, 58 aircrafts with one Russian-made Ilyushin Presidential jet with a $75,000 toilet, not to forget Putin’s ultra-expensive watch collection worth $700,000."
http://www.bornrich.com/vladimir-putins-filthy-rich-lifestyle-4-yachts-58-aircraft-20-homes-75000-toilet.html
Here is a man that really knew how to ride and control a horse, an actual, true life cavalryman.
Here is a man that looks uncomfortable on a horse, and a world leader that for some reason is shirtless, and if you notice, all of his horse pictures look like he is walking a horse that they gave him from the kiddie stable.
“They could not have been more different.”
I agree, but that isn’t the point. Many Russians see Putin the same way many of us saw Reagan, as a sign or beacon of hope.
The average Russian under 40 has no idea what it was like to live in the Soviet Union, all they know about it is some schoolhouse propaganda from grade school.
What they do know is that life in Russia has steadily improved in the years under Putin, and they have it much better than their parents did. They have cellphones, satellite TV, and the ability to travel or move anywhere they want to.
They see the huge infrastructure projects being built, and know that they have more opportunities now, than their parents ever did.
The criminal gangs don’t rule the streets anymore, and even though the mafia’s still exist, they have gone largely underground.
In short, they only have their experiences to compare against, and things have improved dramatically under Putin, like we saw happen under Reagan in the 80’s, only to be wrecked later.
A common estimate is that Putin is about as rich as Bill Gates, about 70 or 75 billion dollars.
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