5 ms·

Putin is a) not a communist anymore. b) quite popular in Russia.

zepto 5y ago
> b) quite popular in Russia. This is true, but from what I hear this is mostly because he’s preferable than a power struggle between his oligarchs which is what people expect would happen in his absence.
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  Also because Russia under his rule is far better than it was during the 90's. Their economic progress has been remarkable after a major collapse.
- vkou 5y ago
  And also in comparison to the utter diaster that was the brief period of democracy in Russia. The 90s were utterly horrible to live through. Now, the reason the 90s were a disaster were not because Russia was a democracy, but nobody will take a foreigner making that argument seriously (and Putin can deal with locals making that argument).
postingawayonhn 5y ago
You would be if you jail/murder/disappear all the opposition figures.
- droptablemain 5y ago
  The Russian mother of someone I know here in LA has pictures of Putin all over her house. I'm fully aware this is anecdotal, but by every metric, Putin is a popular guy within Russia. He's also probably unfairly demonized by the West, so our view of him is skewed.
  - reducesuffering 5y ago
    "Unfairly demonized" Multiple poisonings / assassination attempts, even in the UK Election interference in the US and Europe Donbass Crimea Georgia
    - vkou 5y ago
      Many Russians supporting him believe that he re-asserted Russia's influence in the world, and see Donbass and Georgia in a positive light. My grandfather is one of them. (Although he has soured on Putin himself, over the past few years. Reminds him too much of Stalin.) I'd like to take a moment to point out that the people of any empire often see it's imperial ambitions in a positive light. Dig just a bit, and you'll find Americans who thought Vietnam was a good idea, Frenchmen who thought Algiers was a good idea, Brits with Ireland and India, Argentinians with the Falklands, etc, etc, etc. They've all got a list of excuses as long as your arm for why they think so, and so do the Russians.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      That's fair demonization. But we in the West have no issue looking past assassinations, electoral interference, coups d'états, and invasions far past what even Putin has done. That being said, I still think Putin is an evil man. I just don't think he's really worse than, say, Bush, and I can understand while I massively disagree why so many Russians like him.
      - reducesuffering 5y ago
        > we in the West have no issue looking past [...]" Au contraire, Bush is widely panned across the West, trust in or respect to the CIA is at an all time low, and most educated westerners acknowledge those examples as having been terrible ideas.
        sudosysgen 5y ago
        Maybe he is in your circles, he is in mine. Bush won reelection after doing all of those things, though, and even liberal media outlets began to rehabilitate him recently - see the whole Bush painting atrocity. Putin isn't universally liked in Russia either.

> b) quite popular in Russia. This is true, but from what I hear this is mostly because he’s preferable than a power struggle between his oligarchs which is what people expect would happen in his absence.

Mikeb85 5y ago
Also because Russia under his rule is far better than it was during the 90's. Their economic progress has been remarkable after a major collapse.
vkou 5y ago
And also in comparison to the utter diaster that was the brief period of democracy in Russia. The 90s were utterly horrible to live through. Now, the reason the 90s were a disaster were not because Russia was a democracy, but nobody will take a foreigner making that argument seriously (and Putin can deal with locals making that argument).

postingawayonhn 5y ago

You would be if you jail/murder/disappear all the opposition figures.

droptablemain 5y ago
The Russian mother of someone I know here in LA has pictures of Putin all over her house. I'm fully aware this is anecdotal, but by every metric, Putin is a popular guy within Russia. He's also probably unfairly demonized by the West, so our view of him is skewed.
- reducesuffering 5y ago
  "Unfairly demonized" Multiple poisonings / assassination attempts, even in the UK Election interference in the US and Europe Donbass Crimea Georgia
  - vkou 5y ago
    Many Russians supporting him believe that he re-asserted Russia's influence in the world, and see Donbass and Georgia in a positive light. My grandfather is one of them. (Although he has soured on Putin himself, over the past few years. Reminds him too much of Stalin.) I'd like to take a moment to point out that the people of any empire often see it's imperial ambitions in a positive light. Dig just a bit, and you'll find Americans who thought Vietnam was a good idea, Frenchmen who thought Algiers was a good idea, Brits with Ireland and India, Argentinians with the Falklands, etc, etc, etc. They've all got a list of excuses as long as your arm for why they think so, and so do the Russians.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    That's fair demonization. But we in the West have no issue looking past assassinations, electoral interference, coups d'états, and invasions far past what even Putin has done. That being said, I still think Putin is an evil man. I just don't think he's really worse than, say, Bush, and I can understand while I massively disagree why so many Russians like him.
    - reducesuffering 5y ago
      > we in the West have no issue looking past [...]" Au contraire, Bush is widely panned across the West, trust in or respect to the CIA is at an all time low, and most educated westerners acknowledge those examples as having been terrible ideas.
      - sudosysgen 5y ago
        Maybe he is in your circles, he is in mine. Bush won reelection after doing all of those things, though, and even liberal media outlets began to rehabilitate him recently - see the whole Bush painting atrocity. Putin isn't universally liked in Russia either.