Putin in until 2036
Discussion
There hasn't been a thread on this as far as i can see, The Russian people voted in a referendum for constitutional changes some of which would allow President Putin to remain in office until 2036.
Clearly the press in the west are having kittens about this and there are suggestions of vote rigging etc, this may well be the case or it could just be the propaganda machine in action.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/europe/russia-r...
The CNN article finishes with
"But the message of Wednesday's vote is clear: Putin is going nowhere. In a video posted on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Chechen Republic, said openly that Putin should be made "president for life."
I have watched several programmes on Putin including the Oliver Stone interviews and many other times watched live addresses he has made or public appearances.
Now is the controversial bit, I watch Putin and can't help but be impressed by him!
His demeanour and oratory skills are fantastic, he talks a lot of common sense, he has indeed turned Russia from a virtual failed state after the fall of the Soviet union into a world superpower again, he stands by his allies and does seem to put Russia first.
I can also see the benefits of having a strong leader in power for a long time;
They are able to make unpopular decisions for the good of the country without having to worry about re-election every four years.
Speaking of elections, look how divisive the elections we have every 5 years are, yet alone the madness in the US every four years.
i'm not sure regular elections are quite as good as they are made out to be.
I understand that he has backed Assad in Syria, but that was a US inspired coup and his intervention in the conflict ensured Russian presence in an important theatre, not ideal if you are USA/UK PLC, but pretty good if you want some sea ports on the Med.
You could of course raise any number of things that he has supposedly orchestrated like the Skripal case but that has more holes in the official story than a colander, so much stinks about that it's ridiculous. Which makes me think that a lot of the other stories are either fabricated or exacerbated for effect.
We in the west are programmed to be anti-Russia from an early age but when I look at Putin alongside Boris Johnson, Teresa May, Corbyn, Trump, Biden, Trudeau or pretty much any of our ruling class they just look useless by comparison, he looks like a chess grand-master just toying with them.
It's a pity we can't elect a leader like him.
And no, i'm not a bot
Clearly the press in the west are having kittens about this and there are suggestions of vote rigging etc, this may well be the case or it could just be the propaganda machine in action.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/europe/russia-r...
The CNN article finishes with
"But the message of Wednesday's vote is clear: Putin is going nowhere. In a video posted on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Chechen Republic, said openly that Putin should be made "president for life."
I have watched several programmes on Putin including the Oliver Stone interviews and many other times watched live addresses he has made or public appearances.
Now is the controversial bit, I watch Putin and can't help but be impressed by him!
His demeanour and oratory skills are fantastic, he talks a lot of common sense, he has indeed turned Russia from a virtual failed state after the fall of the Soviet union into a world superpower again, he stands by his allies and does seem to put Russia first.
I can also see the benefits of having a strong leader in power for a long time;
They are able to make unpopular decisions for the good of the country without having to worry about re-election every four years.
Speaking of elections, look how divisive the elections we have every 5 years are, yet alone the madness in the US every four years.
i'm not sure regular elections are quite as good as they are made out to be.
I understand that he has backed Assad in Syria, but that was a US inspired coup and his intervention in the conflict ensured Russian presence in an important theatre, not ideal if you are USA/UK PLC, but pretty good if you want some sea ports on the Med.
You could of course raise any number of things that he has supposedly orchestrated like the Skripal case but that has more holes in the official story than a colander, so much stinks about that it's ridiculous. Which makes me think that a lot of the other stories are either fabricated or exacerbated for effect.
We in the west are programmed to be anti-Russia from an early age but when I look at Putin alongside Boris Johnson, Teresa May, Corbyn, Trump, Biden, Trudeau or pretty much any of our ruling class they just look useless by comparison, he looks like a chess grand-master just toying with them.
It's a pity we can't elect a leader like him.
And no, i'm not a bot
My Name is Legion said:
There hasn't been a thread on this as far as i can see, The Russian people voted in a referendum for constitutional changes some of which would allow President Putin to remain in office until 2036.
Clearly the press in the west are having kittens about this and there are suggestions of vote rigging etc, this may well be the case or it could just be the propaganda machine in action.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/europe/russia-r...
The CNN article finishes with
"But the message of Wednesday's vote is clear: Putin is going nowhere. In a video posted on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Chechen Republic, said openly that Putin should be made "president for life."
I have watched several programmes on Putin including the Oliver Stone interviews and many other times watched live addresses he has made or public appearances.
Now is the controversial bit, I watch Putin and can't help but be impressed by him!
His demeanour and oratory skills are fantastic, he talks a lot of common sense, he has indeed turned Russia from a virtual failed state after the fall of the Soviet union into a world superpower again, he stands by his allies and does seem to put Russia first.
I can also see the benefits of having a strong leader in power for a long time;
They are able to make unpopular decisions for the good of the country without having to worry about re-election every four years.
Speaking of elections, look how divisive the elections we have every 5 years are, yet alone the madness in the US every four years.
i'm not sure regular elections are quite as good as they are made out to be.
I understand that he has backed Assad in Syria, but that was a US inspired coup and his intervention in the conflict ensured Russian presence in an important theatre, not ideal if you are USA/UK PLC, but pretty good if you want some sea ports on the Med.
You could of course raise any number of things that he has supposedly orchestrated like the Skripal case but that has more holes in the official story than a colander, so much stinks about that it's ridiculous. Which makes me think that a lot of the other stories are either fabricated or exacerbated for effect.
We in the west are programmed to be anti-Russia from an early age but when I look at Putin alongside Boris Johnson, Teresa May, Corbyn, Trump, Biden, Trudeau or pretty much any of our ruling class they just look useless by comparison, he looks like a chess grand-master just toying with them.
It's a pity we can't elect a leader like him.
And no, i'm not a bot
Suppose you changed your mind for whatever reason and then campaigned for someone else - what do you think of what Putin does to political opponents and their supporters?Clearly the press in the west are having kittens about this and there are suggestions of vote rigging etc, this may well be the case or it could just be the propaganda machine in action.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/01/europe/russia-r...
The CNN article finishes with
"But the message of Wednesday's vote is clear: Putin is going nowhere. In a video posted on Telegram, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of the Chechen Republic, said openly that Putin should be made "president for life."
I have watched several programmes on Putin including the Oliver Stone interviews and many other times watched live addresses he has made or public appearances.
Now is the controversial bit, I watch Putin and can't help but be impressed by him!
His demeanour and oratory skills are fantastic, he talks a lot of common sense, he has indeed turned Russia from a virtual failed state after the fall of the Soviet union into a world superpower again, he stands by his allies and does seem to put Russia first.
I can also see the benefits of having a strong leader in power for a long time;
They are able to make unpopular decisions for the good of the country without having to worry about re-election every four years.
Speaking of elections, look how divisive the elections we have every 5 years are, yet alone the madness in the US every four years.
i'm not sure regular elections are quite as good as they are made out to be.
I understand that he has backed Assad in Syria, but that was a US inspired coup and his intervention in the conflict ensured Russian presence in an important theatre, not ideal if you are USA/UK PLC, but pretty good if you want some sea ports on the Med.
You could of course raise any number of things that he has supposedly orchestrated like the Skripal case but that has more holes in the official story than a colander, so much stinks about that it's ridiculous. Which makes me think that a lot of the other stories are either fabricated or exacerbated for effect.
We in the west are programmed to be anti-Russia from an early age but when I look at Putin alongside Boris Johnson, Teresa May, Corbyn, Trump, Biden, Trudeau or pretty much any of our ruling class they just look useless by comparison, he looks like a chess grand-master just toying with them.
It's a pity we can't elect a leader like him.
And no, i'm not a bot
whoami said:
The Russian people didn’t elect a leader like him either.
Admittedly this article is a few years old but it would seem to suggest otherwise.https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/03/why-...
The new Statesman is a pretty reliable source of factual info, quite lefty really.
Other than the sarcastic comments, do people disagree with the core points about Putin as a leader.
Does anyone really think our current politicians are anywhere near as statesmanlike as Putin?
The last statesmanlike decent politician in the west was Obama.
Since Obama who have we had?
Edited by My Name is Legion on Friday 3rd July 11:09
Putin does an excellent job of leading Russia from a foreigners perspective but then if we really think about it he’s suppressed dissent, completely destroyed any semblance of democracy in Russia, committed war crimes in our very country in Salisbury, currently claims to be near as dammit a pauper despite being worth billions (ill gotten). He’s as bent as 3 Bob note but he does what’s right for Russia on a global stage. On a national level he’s pretty dreadful especially if you happen not to agree with his policies or have the audacity to be gay.
valiant said:
Democracy is overrated by some it seems...
Democracy?Oh yeah that system where you get to vote for some Lib/Lab/Con puppet of the banks, the corps and the establishment.
What we have is more akin to Corporatocracy or Oligarchy with a meaningless and irrelevant veneer of a democratic process in which the gullible masses enjoy taking part in.
Without being held to account tyranny becomes inevitable - even if putin himself is more benevolent that we're led to believe he'll put in place the tools of oppression that lesser men will succumb to.
The problem with the western election cycle isn't the democratic process its the reduction of every agenda to a pantomine of good vs. Evil. Brexit. Black lives matter. Nhs reform. Airport runways.
There's no nuance or attempt to understand there's extremes who are not relevant, and mostly decent people who differ a bit and meet in the middle.
There is a distinct lack of critical thinking.
It seems more polarised today but I do wonder how much It twas ever thus. You can read books 100 or 200 years old or more and find the same arguments and bones of contention.
The problem with the western election cycle isn't the democratic process its the reduction of every agenda to a pantomine of good vs. Evil. Brexit. Black lives matter. Nhs reform. Airport runways.
There's no nuance or attempt to understand there's extremes who are not relevant, and mostly decent people who differ a bit and meet in the middle.
There is a distinct lack of critical thinking.
It seems more polarised today but I do wonder how much It twas ever thus. You can read books 100 or 200 years old or more and find the same arguments and bones of contention.
Edited by Teddy Lop on Friday 3rd July 06:45
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