All Posts Tagged With: "Putin"
Pointkovsky on Homo Putinicus
Our friend Andrei Piontkovsky has written an informative column in the Moscow Times. In it, the author of the essential collection “Another Look Into Putin’s Soul” examines the phenomenon of accused murder Andrei Lugovoi’s popularity in Russia today. Sharp tongue firmly in cheek, Piontkovsky wonders if Lugovoi should take seriously a Russian interviewer’s thought about […]
Aug 3, 2007 | Continued
Putin’s History Books
The Washington Post has a depressing account of how the Putin administration is bringing his cult of personality and campaign of misinformation to Russia’s children. The old joke about the USSR, that it was a “country with an uncertain past” can now be revived. We believe in a strong Russia, but not an isolated, xenophobic, […]
Jul 20, 2007 | Continued
Inside the Putin Youth Cult
Michael Hammerschlag has an insightful item called “Putin’s Children” on the Kremlin-funded Nashi youth group in the International Herald Tribune. The 120,000-odd Putin Youth members are perhaps the most creepy demonstration of Putin’s “Back to the Future” cult of personality – youth groups created, supported, and used by the Kremlin to harass, bully and intimidate […]
Jul 6, 2007 | Continued
Dissent in Art
The excellent web magazine Slate has a compendium of political cartoons from around the world, regularly updated. As the saying goes, a picture is often worth a thousand press releases. These below and many others on Putin are found in the Europe index at Slate. The first two are by Yuri Cherepanov, whose cartoons for […]
Jul 3, 2007 | Continued
Birds of a Feather Dept.
What do Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Vladimir Putin have in common? Many things, in fact. All three lead increasingly repressive petro-states whose regimes are kept in power by the high price of oil and the power it purchases. All are dealing heavily in the world of armaments, with Russia selling weaponry and technology to […]
Jun 29, 2007 | Continued
Putin’s Rules on Trade
Last weekend Vladimir Putin attacked the World Trade Organization for being “archaic, nondemocratic and unwieldy.” As The Wall Street Journal pointed out yesterday, WTO director Pascal Lamy was quick to remind that these characteristics haven’t stopped Russia from attempting to join. The article continued: Yet the biggest sticking point concerns Russia’s failure to fulfill promises […]
Jun 16, 2007 | Continued
Bush’s Backtrack
In his statement at the June 5 Prague Conference on Security and Democracy, US President Bush said, “In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development.” The next day, in his remarks to the travel pool of reporters, Bush found it necessary to explain his speech. […]
Jun 8, 2007 | Continued
Wiemar on the Volga
Historian Niall Ferguson, author of the fascinating books Colossus: the Rise and Fall of the American Empire and Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order, among many others, had an essential article in the Sunday Telegraph this week. Excerpts follow: Putin is heading for a worrying future Seven years ago, the economist […]
May 30, 2007 | Continued
John McCain on Putin’s Russia
US presidential candidate Senator John McCain is one of the few top western politicians to realize that Russia’s decline into dictatorship is a topic of critical importance for the world. He has demanded that Russia be ejected from the G-8 for supporting Iran’s nuclear ambitions and failing to adhere to democratic standards. He called for […]
May 30, 2007 | Continued
Meek White House Reaction to Putin’s “Nazi” Remarks
With the world’s headlines stating the obvious, “Putin compares US to Third Reich,” the Bush White House has decided to meekly swallow the insult whole. “Moreover, in our time, these threats are not diminishing,” Putin said. “They are only transforming, changing their appearance. In these new threats, as during the time of the Third Reich, […]
May 11, 2007 | Continued