Iron Putin
Vladimir Putin
By John Worthen
For Between Editions
I’ve been studying Russian President Vladimir Putin for the past couple of years. Something about the man just fascinates me — and not necessarily in a good way. You see, Putin is an old KGB man who remembers well the days of the Iron Curtain and the Cold War with the United States.
Some say he’s returning Russia to a country more in line with the Cold War than 21st century democracy; others say that’s exactly how he wants it.
It’s true that Putin has run Russia with a secret fist that’s been known to quash resistance and silence those who speak out against the government. So when the New York Times published a piece this weekend detailing this very thing, I took special note to read it.
An excerpt from the article:
“Over the past eight years, in the name of reviving Russia after the tumult of the 1990s, Mr. Putin has waged an unforgiving campaign to clamp down on democracy and extend control over the government and large swaths of the economy.
“He has suppressed the independent news media, nationalized important industries, smothered the political opposition and readily deployed the security services to carry out the Kremlin’s wishes.”
It’s a very sobering read. Click here for more.