Putin is the guy we can not take our eye off of. Here are the reasons why.
Russia Assuming Soviet Characteristics Under Putin
By Paul M. Weyrich
CNSNews.com Commentary
August 29, 2007
Before
the Cold War concluded, the late Dr. Robert Krieble and I traveled the
length and breadth of what was then the Soviet Union. Dr. Krieble
taught how to start a business with very little or no capital. I taught
how to win elections. Each of us was accompanied by two or three
colleagues. One thing was clear: The Russian people were well educated.
If an old U.S. News and World Report or Time Magazine were left
behind they devoured it for months. The content was debated
extensively. The people were far more dedicated than we expected. Boris
Yeltsen and his associates initially gave the okay for attendance at
our seminars.
Once the Cold War ended there was chaos. The
word went out that these crazy Americans were coming and anyone who
wished to attend could do so. In Siberia, by the way, participants were
extremely well informed. They had literally built crystal radio sets to
access Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe.
At any rate, when
Dr. Krieble and I compared notes after our seminars had concluded, the
one issue which came up time and again was shouldn't Russia carry a big
stick to make itself relevant at home and abroad. Indeed, that is
exactly what is happening now. Yeltsen could barely top 25% at his best
when he was in office. Putin manages 70% by being tough at home.
The
oil revenues which Putin has accumulated have enabled him to carry the
big stick abroad. After the end of the Cold War Yeltsen all but
disarmed Russia, maintaining only sufficient armed forces to defend the
country. Now flush with oil revenues, Putin is carrying the big stick
abroad as well. The Russian public felt that Yeltsin had humiliated the
country. Again and again we were asked if President Augusto Pinochet of
Chile might be a good role model for Russia.
Now Putin is both
re-arming Russia and allying with his Communist allies, gaining
domestic applause in the process. He repeatedly has claimed that he
would not seek to have the Constitution amended so he could run for a
third term. Many Russian observers don't believe that, with 70 percent
popularity and a sound economy, Putin could do anything else. After
all, he is still a young man; why else would he picture himself
bare-chested, while fishing, in Siberia? It surely looks political.
In
the late 1940s and 1950s, there was the issue of who lost China.
Different State Department figures pointed the finger at each other, as
did Members of Congress of both parties If the charge were to be made
again, "Who lost Russia?" it would not be President George W. Bush,
although if he had avoided such nonsense as he looked into Putin's eyes
and saw his soul and dealt with this Russian leader for the tough head
of state that he is, we all would have been better off.
Putin
is a no-nonsense operator. He always has a strategy aimed at boosting
his point of view. While probably not a Communist, he certainly is a
throwback to the style of Soviet leadership to which we had become
accustomed from Stalin onward. He no longer can hope to keep his
country ignorant.
Putin will operate wholly in his interest
and that of his allies. We can expect little else from him. He is doing
his very best to re-create the Soviet state internally and to practice
Soviet-style international politics elsewhere. Any other interpretation
of events would be a misunderstanding.
There was a time when
the United States could have fostered a different outcome. But a total
misunderstanding about how to handle things led to the present
position. What a tragedy for us, the Russian people and the rest of the
world as well.
Comments