Posted on 10/10/2007 3:53:50 AM PDT by Argentine-Firecracker
In a SPIEGEL interview, leading Russian politician and potential Putin successor Vladimir Yakunin discusses the president's plans, the Bush administration's "political arrogance" and the need for nations to consider the interests of other countries when defining their own.
Vladimir Yakunin, 59, who worked as a diplomat at the Soviet mission to the United Nations in New York and later as the Russian deputy minister of transportation, became the president of the powerful Russian railroad corporation in 2005. He is considered a possible presidential candidate.
SPIEGEL: You have known (Russian President) Vladimir Putin for a long time. In fact, you had neighboring dachas in St. Petersburg. Were you surprised by his announcement that he intends to remain at the center of power, as prime minister?
Yakunin: The president merely said that this is possible. Other possibilities should not be ruled out. Putin is doing everything he can to ensure a smooth transition of power. This is positive. Our political system is only beginning to take shape. New parties have been formed, thanks to Putin. We have more democracy now, not less. The elections will decide everything.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Spiegel! Fulfilling the anti-American dream!
Yep, it’s all America’s fault.
http://medienkritik.typepad.com/blog/ can be entertaining in it’s exposing of the sort of nasty, twisted hatred that the German media likes to vomit about the US.
Yes, I agree, and, BTW, medienkritik is a very informative blog.
Periodically, though, (rather, once in a blue moon), Spiegel will surprise and produce an even-handed article...
“Periodically, though, (rather, once in a blue moon), Spiegel will surprise and produce an even-handed article...”
Yeah, occasionally. But only on accident.
Seriously though, Russia has shown itself to be congenitally incapable of getting its crap together in any meaningful manner and is always all about blaming someone else for its constant failure.
The Soviets never left the gov, they just reinvented themselves and continue to be just as incredibly incompetent as always.
I have tried to understand first the Russian mentality, then the Soviet, and now -once again- the Russian mentality.
I came across an article written by Theodore Dalrymple that described Russia’s “Alexis Tocqueville”, a nineteenth-century French aristocrat, the Marquis de Custine:
“Custine grasped that the propensity to deceive and to be (or to pretend to be) deceived lay at the heart of Russia’s evident malaise. The maintenance of despotism depended upon this universal vocation for untruth, because without the fiction that the despotism was necessary, that it conduced to the happiness and well-being of all, and that any alternative would be disastrous, the subject population would cease to be controllable. The inability to speak even the most evident truth perverted all human relationships and institutions. And of course the lie came to be the foundation of all twentieth-century totalitarian regimes, without which they could not survive. “The political system of Russia,” wrote Custine, “could not withstand twenty years of free communication with Western Europe.”
Mr. Custine, I believe, hit the nail on the head. You can find the lengthy piece at http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_2_urbanities-how_to_read.html.
The Russian leadership needs to understand that most people in the Western countries don’t really care if Russia lives or dies.We had quite enough of you during the cold war-just go away ....
Russia is a vicious kleptocracy. Entirely undependable as an ally, the Europeans are learning that to depend on Russia for energy supplies can be a sure way to commit economic suicide.
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.