[G. Adams]

Quote by: Nono Deft summary, Rick. And I agree with G that Hitler was the author of his own destruction. Both were crazy as loons, but the long Russian tradition of tyrannical government and the sheer size of the country (did Stalin ever have to worry about his oil supply?), meant that he could act weird with impunity, while Hitler eventually stepped on enough foreign toes to get his comeuppance. I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that Putin is truly heir to Stalin. He's busily closing the hatches in Russia, and the Russians appear to view this as completely normal. And he's getting a hell of an easy ride in the Western media.

Off-topic I know but...I really don't like Putin, yet I think he's getting a worse image than is neccesary. The Western media shows how he closing down private business owners and pulling power away from the regional governments. Yet these are not normal business owners. These are oligarchs who groomed and chose Putin in the first place, but when they realised he was a populist and would thus undermine their power, they have been using all possible means to undermine him. And these oligarchs also often have conenctions to the Russian mafia. It's because he's busting these traitorous thieves that he's popular at home.