08-15-2013, 10:53 AM
Do they really like him or are they just afraid of him? It's possible there is some apathy there, voter apathy exists everywhere and I am sure its as prevalent in Russia as it is elsewhere.
I've also been a bit weary of him. Those photos of him posing shirtless on that hunting trip a few years back were just stupid and gross - any statesman who has any self-respect wouldn't pose shirtless in public. It's disgusting and undignified. Imagine if George W. Bush did that - you'd feel nauseous just thinking about it. It was at that point I started to become really cynical about him.
He's worse than the old Soviet leaders in that he goes much further than some of the later ones ever did. Whilst they were prepared to negotiate in order to avoid Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), and did embrace some limited reforms which were very limited but better than nothing, Putin seems unreasonable. He's made gay people a scapegoat to divert attention from some of Russia's other issues.
I am not saying that western leaders are great either. God knows in Britain we have some real posh idiots in charge who know Jack about running things. But Putin is threatening and dangerous, he did invade Georgia and will probably threaten other countries as part of some macho, phallic display of what he thinks is power but is really just bullying and intimidation. At least some of the old Russian leaders (not Stalin of course) knew their boundaries - Putin doesn't
I've also been a bit weary of him. Those photos of him posing shirtless on that hunting trip a few years back were just stupid and gross - any statesman who has any self-respect wouldn't pose shirtless in public. It's disgusting and undignified. Imagine if George W. Bush did that - you'd feel nauseous just thinking about it. It was at that point I started to become really cynical about him.
He's worse than the old Soviet leaders in that he goes much further than some of the later ones ever did. Whilst they were prepared to negotiate in order to avoid Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), and did embrace some limited reforms which were very limited but better than nothing, Putin seems unreasonable. He's made gay people a scapegoat to divert attention from some of Russia's other issues.
I am not saying that western leaders are great either. God knows in Britain we have some real posh idiots in charge who know Jack about running things. But Putin is threatening and dangerous, he did invade Georgia and will probably threaten other countries as part of some macho, phallic display of what he thinks is power but is really just bullying and intimidation. At least some of the old Russian leaders (not Stalin of course) knew their boundaries - Putin doesn't