It really doesn’t prove anything, though. Hitler was very popular when he was winning back lands to Germany with large numbers of Germans without having to fight a war. Most US Presidents have been popular when wars are swift, low cost, and successful. Putin’s success so far may bring cheers from his subjects. That will change if they pay a heavy price as well for his chauvinism. Then, they’ll again fix their minds on the tyranny that is Putin’s regime and its oligarchy of former communists turned crony capitalists. The fact that Putin denies Ukraine popular sovereignty - bossing ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych around before he fell - will be remembered too. Now, he “saving” the Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, which is just a ploy to keep his rapacious fingers in Ukraine’s business. He insists that Ukraine do as he says, like a typical tyrant he cannot understand that another nation can have its own culture, language, foreign policy, and form of government. Putinism, may please some who disdain Obama and his threats to American liberty. I get that. But we are wise to equate them both as statist who do not respect their people.
Ukraine, blow a few pipelines and let them go without money for a while and see how they do.
Lies, all lies. Obama is much more popular.
Pooty-Poot’s phone and pen have way more mojo than Hussein’s.
Support of the “furor” by the creators and birthland of the “LIV” should not be “unexpected”. Hope Joell Pollack of Britebart does a followup on the how the Russian media is reporting these attacks on “Russians” by the “Ukrainan Nazis” or the phoney popular insurrection by the Crimea “milita”. That would explain this it’s not about the money and control of new Ukrainian nat gas finds which of course doesn’t get mentioned in the Ukrainian invasion..
Both the Georgian and Ukrainian invasions are about energy oil and natural gas.. Georgia because of a middle east pipeline. ,
Most Russians seen Putin as having stemmed their decline and made them feared as a resurgent great power.
Gorbachev may be popular in the West but he is despised in Russia as the man who nearly brought it to ruin through misguided and inept policies. As much he helped to discredit Communism, Putin has validated Russian nationalism and charted a separate path for Russia apart from the West.
Regaining Crimea would be his greatest achievement and I don’t think he wants restore the Soviet Union as much as he wants to make Russia the leading country in the post Soviet space. And that wins him kudos from Russian nationalists at home and the West’s disapproval of him only shows that he reads them far better than they read him.
As for Ukraine, I don’t think he wants war and he has plenty of tools to discredit and undermine a fledgling regime he thinks is an enemy of Russia. And Russia will continue to do that to show the West how far its willing to go for its interests short of outright war. And there is no real appetite in the West to take on Russia for a sustained period of time and in knowing that, Putin holds all the cards.
Vlad The Great? I guess we’ll have to see if history agrees once he is gone from the scene in Russia but at least he is still a consequential figure in world history. Russia is back, whether or not the events in Ukraine result in a new Cold War between it and the West in the future.
his approval ratings have soared ... And in the US amongst those who are sick and tired of the pervert in the oval office.
Wow - little President Barry MomJeans disapproves.
Vladimir will have sleepless nights...
The Historical legacy........
Vlad the great....... restorer of the Motherland
George W Bush....... conqueror of Baghdad
Barack Obama........ Wilsonian piss ant
Have people forgotten that just a few weeks ago, Obama was forcing homosexuals on the Russians?