My impression about Russia

My impression about Russia is that the communism is gone for sure, but the type and level of democracy are definitely not the western "brand".

Ask your russian friends what they think about crack down peaceful demonstrations, arresting, jailing and even murdering political opponents.  The journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a reporter on Chevhen war,  was shot in her apt. in Moscow in 2006; Alexander Litvinenko, the spy poisoned with polonium-210 in London months later; the activist Boris Nemtsov was shot on a bridge in Moscow in 2015, etc.... I guess your friends wouldn't care much about Ukraine's loss of Crimea.

 

On the other hand, there are 2 things Putin did cemented the loyalty of Russian people- he restrained the billionaires who were looting the the country, and he restored Russia's standing abroad. When Putin took power in 1999-2000, his country was defenseless and bankrupt. The ave. life expectancy was below that of Bangladesh. The transfer of Russia's natural resources into the hands of KGB-connected Communists, who called themselves businessmen, was a tragic moment for Russia. It was also the shameful one for the West. Western corps including banks provided the financing. Well, some western political scientists presented it as a "transition to capitalism".

Now you would have a better idea why Putin has ruled for 18 yrs. He's become a symbol of national self determination who won't submit to the world that surround him.

 

Generally, if you like the current American run world system, you will consider Putin is an evil. If you don't like it, you will have some sympathy for him, he is a symbol of nationalism in its battle with globalization. Ironically, it turns out to be the big battle of our times, even true here in US and the whole western world.

 

BTW, I think a good foreign policy thinker is less about idealism, more about the ability to set priorities, to see what constitutes the biggest threat. Today's biggest threat to the western world probably isn't Vladimir Putin, i don't want to get too deep on this...

 

 

所有跟帖： 

• 所谓西方和俄罗斯，没有那么不是白就是黑的。俄罗斯走在民主化的道路上，现在是威权政治。如此而已。 -咪呜- ♂ (257 bytes) () 12/19/2017 postreply 11:10:51

• What's really impressed me about Russian people --worldance-- ♀ (903 bytes) () 12/19/2017 postreply 11:37:48