November 17, 2008
Them's fighting words
Buried in an article about propaganda in Russia:
Only those close to the Kremlin claim Mr Putin has no designs on the presidency. "Medvedev will serve his term and may be re-elected for another," says Edward Lozansky, a former dissident. "It is none of the British press's business anyway. Go and teach your British wives to cook cabbage soup."
Oh. Snap.
Via Hot Air Headlines.
Posted by Karol at November 17, 2008 10:08 PM | TrackBackTechnorati Tags: Russian+economy Russian+propaganda
At least Putin is a 'known-quantity'. (I'm a bit of a Russo-phile [not an expert], and mean this in the best possible way) Russia has no democratic tradition in her history. Is the process for presidential elections in Russia a total sham? Sure, so what else is new? I respectfully submit that a drunken, incompetent Yeltsin was much more dangerous than Putin will ever be.
Is Medvedev ("the bear") Putin's ("the way") marionette? Probably, but at least we know who's in charge.
Russians are good people, and I think Americans have a lot in common with them: we each have a deep sense of our own natural roles for leadership in the world, we're both intensely patriotic, we enjoy vast geographic domains, and we have lifetime memberships in NEELTH (Nations-Everyone-Else-Loves-To-Hate).
But Russia has always had a strong messianic tradition, as well (and coming soon to a country near you). It's not enough to have a particular party in power. Russia's governments have always carried an all-encompassing worldview (ordained variously by God or Marx).
Posted by: Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg at November 18, 2008 08:46 AMHey, it's not like cabbage soup is easy. Too many beets, too few, it's a close run thing.
Posted by: Casca at November 18, 2008 10:48 AM
