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My Russian friends on Facebook love Putin. Why would they overthrow him? He's given them everything they wanted: revenge on West for the cold war, bullying neig

My Russian friends on Facebook love Putin. Why would they overthrow him? He's given them everything they wanted: revenge on West for the cold war, bullying neighbors, a toughguy image, punishing homosexuals, and up until recently a higher oil price (coincidental of course). Sorry I just don't believe that the Russian people are interested in peace or human rights. Putin reflects the will of majority. I think Russia's culture is just broken. I don't think a lot of Americans understand how corrupt and messed up that culture is. Ever do business there? I have. Its madness compared to the west. They're not Europeans. They're Russians. They have their own ideas of what passes for justice and international law. I'm getting a little sick of hearing how Putin doesn't reflect the average Russian's political will. Sadly, Putin does. Isolation and sanctions are the only rational move at this point. We've gone down this road before several times and recently with Iran. Do you guys really think the average Iranian wants Ali Khamenei overthrown? Come on.

nhayden 12y ago
What revenge have they given for the Cold War? I have not noticed anything.
rwallace 12y ago
Isolation and sanctions would be acts of insane stupidity at this point. Take a dodgy regime and cut them off from the international community, mess up their economy, give everyone in the country a reason to believe the world really is out to get them, and it should be no surprise when the inevitable happens: popular opinion in the country becomes increasingly paranoid, support for the dodgy regime is solidified, and the regime itself becomes more extremist and totalitarian over time. It's the perfect way to make a bad situation worse. This might be excusable if the situation were unprecedented, but the worst part is, the pattern is not news to us at all. Cuba, North Korea, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Iran: how many times does history have to repeat the lesson before we become willing to learn it?
- bad_user 12y ago
  But what's the alternative when Russia is tramping over the sovereignty of another country in the EU's backyard? If not isolation and sanctions, what's left? Full scale war? I don't think there will be any winners in a WWIII.
  - rwallace 12y ago
    Obviously going to war would be even more insanely stupid. The alternative is to realize that just because Russia is behaving badly is not a reason the US and EU should also start behaving badly.
danmaz74 12y ago
Maybe you didn't consider that those who have success in business in Russia are largely those who live well in a corrupt system and have a strong relationship with Putin's power. That doesn't represent the average Russian.
curiously 12y ago
So basically normal humane civilization is something not part of Russian culture or at least for majority anyway.

nhayden 12y ago

What revenge have they given for the Cold War? I have not noticed anything.

rwallace 12y ago

Isolation and sanctions would be acts of insane stupidity at this point. Take a dodgy regime and cut them off from the international community, mess up their economy, give everyone in the country a reason to believe the world really is out to get them, and it should be no surprise when the inevitable happens: popular opinion in the country becomes increasingly paranoid, support for the dodgy regime is solidified, and the regime itself becomes more extremist and totalitarian over time. It's the perfect way to make a bad situation worse. This might be excusable if the situation were unprecedented, but the worst part is, the pattern is not news to us at all. Cuba, North Korea, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Iran: how many times does history have to repeat the lesson before we become willing to learn it?

bad_user 12y ago
But what's the alternative when Russia is tramping over the sovereignty of another country in the EU's backyard? If not isolation and sanctions, what's left? Full scale war? I don't think there will be any winners in a WWIII.
- rwallace 12y ago
  Obviously going to war would be even more insanely stupid. The alternative is to realize that just because Russia is behaving badly is not a reason the US and EU should also start behaving badly.

danmaz74 12y ago

Maybe you didn't consider that those who have success in business in Russia are largely those who live well in a corrupt system and have a strong relationship with Putin's power. That doesn't represent the average Russian.

curiously 12y ago

So basically normal humane civilization is something not part of Russian culture or at least for majority anyway.