"The KGB is no more, and Putin is not a member, but rather is a professing Christian. It's only natural for him to put into positions of authority men he trusts. NOT EVERBODY IN THE KGB WAS EVIL. Furthermore, the words to the International were replaced, the tune remained the same."
Putin seems like a nice person, but when he is looking after the interests of his country, he needs to be watched. Russia has lost pretty much all of it's former WARPACT nations, many to the EU or Nato. The only nation still allied with Russia is Belarus.
Putin's weak, [read nonexistant] response to the Beslan massacre caused me to lose a lot of respect for him. I thought he was a hardliner. But he did pretty much nothing after Beslan.
I mean come on, the terrorists killed BABIES, raped TEENAGE girls in front of their classmates, and then blew hundreds of people up, and what did Putin do? NOTHING!
The least he could have done was nuked Chechnya, or at least a massive artillery bombardment to do to Grozny what the Romans did to Carthage.
And that would have solved.............?