Headline August, 3rd, 2012 / "To Russia With Love!"

"To Russia With Love!"

Putin got into politics at an auspicious moment. People were giddy with the idea of democracy and capitalism, but most Russians were dancing in the dark! 'Sometimes he made mistakes about judgements of people,' said Vatanyar Yagya, a deputy in the St. Petersburg legislative assembly who admired Putin.

''Along with honest, talented, creative people came people with low, immoral interests...! There were newfound opportunities to take bribes and be corrupt'' 'There are no clean politicians in Russia,' political analyst Vyacheslav Nikonov disclosed. Putin may not have become rich but he got ahead. 'Yeltsin used him as an enforce,' Nikonov said, and time again he proved his loyalty, especially in 98 and 99, when the Duma wanted to impeach Yeltsin. 

And it was openly known, 'Every time Yeltsin had serious trouble in the Duma, Putin and the F.S.B had information on Yeltsin's enemies and would use it.' Now that he's in power himself, Putin supposedly feels different. Explaining what Putin meant by ''dictatorship of the law,'' Egorov often clarified that his friend was convinced that ''officials never have the right to spin the law in their own favor.'' 

World Bank President James Wolfenson, who at the time of Putin's election spent nine hours with him in his Kremlin apartment, said, ''Putin is extremely intelligent, part of a new breed we hadn't seen before.'' For a Russian Leader, he's as clean as you are going to get....Everybody I've met feels he's the best chance we're going to have,'' adds Wolfenson.

Ednan Agaev, a former Arms negotiator for the Soviet Union, has a unique insight: 'Spies must be very charming. But even more important than wooing Western Investors and negotiating for debt and other reliefs, Putin must convince Russians that they can once again believe in the mother Land. 

They have to obey the law, pay taxes and trust the state. But covering the period of late 90s, especially after the NATO bombing of Kosovo, relationships soured, all around, ''Even the most anti-Russian Washington administration cannot inflict more harm than the 'true friends of Russia,' said one Russian Political commentator.'' 

''Even an increase of isolationist tendencies in the U:S. Would be a boon.'' NATO's expansion was an incredible slap in the face of Russia- at least a wakeup call!! That Russia had to start paying attention to its own security needs again, said Cifford Gaddy of the Brookings Institution, who has had an excellent Track Record for calling Putin's moves. 

Poland. Czech Republic, and Humgary all got in, but Russia was pointedly excluded. After Kursk sank, Russia went into a circular reasoning. Said Borovoy, an early business tycoon,'' Russia is only important if it's scary. If you can't solve old problems, you create new ones!!'' President Vladmir Putin's formidable challenge, ever since then, is to keep hope alive, not only for his Motherland, but also for himself. And in this, he is gaining ground!!

Goodnight & God bless!

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