some day we'll look back on these days fondly

[metalman]

http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010398

[Guest]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

Gary Kasparov is a brave and principled man.

[c1ue]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

Kasparov is a good man, but I think he's got the same problem as my mother-in-law's neighbor:

Both think that governing Russia (or any other nation) should be the province of men of good will

I also disagree with Kasparov on his view of Putin as the mafia's don; rather he is confusing the KGB organization with the more common criminals who operate the local gangs.

The other Soviet organizations, of course, also had their mafias: the army, the communist party, etc etc. In the United States, there also are what could be construed as Mafias: Goldman, Yale, Kennedy, etc.

The neighbor decries Putin's effective renationalization of Yukos; but then again Khodorkovsky bought the core of Yukos for something in the order of $30M. This is not a small sum, but compared to Yukos' revenue and assets...

Ultimately what did Khodorkovsky in was that he thought he had bought enough respectability and power to fight the KGB governmental mafia - and he was wrong.

The concern I have primarily is not what has been done to Yukos; it is absolutely within the Russian government's prerogative to secure the primary route to achieve national security - in this case via monopolization of a national resource.

My concern is how the concentration of power used to bring this about might be used/abused in the future, or will perhaps some Cincinnatus come on the scene?

[Tet]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

Gary Kasparov is a brave and principled man.

LMAO, Gary is a foreign funded trouble maker who should be sent back to his home in the middle east. Even in the US, if we found out someone was foreign backed we'd lynch him, I think Gary is about to find this out, for such a smart guy he's a real idiot.

[Guest]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

Tet -

< sent back to his home in the middle east >

Hmmm.. Who are we gonna send back to their homes from this country, eh?

Some micks, kikes, wops, spics, polacks?

Some places in the US they're so damn mixed up together you can't even tell them apart any more.

You maybe have a soft spot for the Israelis, huh? You'd sure find it tough going in New Jack City my friend.

[medved]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

My concern is how the concentration of power used to bring this about might be used/abused in the future, or will perhaps some Cincinnatus come on the scene?

Russia has always lived under strong centralized power. They know no other way of government. Very few people in Russia (mostly, intellectuals) are concerned about personal freedom. They are much more concerned about finding "a good czar". So, there will be no Cincinnatus.

We may be scared of Putin, but I am much more scared of my friends after some conversations, we had this summer in Russia. Unfortunately, there is nothing new under the sun, and Russia is going back to its tried imperial model. It is just the question of what kind of evil empire it is going to be, moderately evil or very evil.

Putin is not the problem, Russia is.

m.

[c1ue]

Re: some day we'll look back on these days fondly

Medvedev,

Yes, a lot of apparently well credentialed people have theorized that the government of a people is a reflection of their environment.

For Russia:

Russia is a country which has been invaded many times (Ostrogoths, Huns, Avars, Magyars, Varangians, Cumans, Mongols, and more recently Germans and French) and thus dread foreigners.

Russians furthermore have historically been unruly and disorganized.

Thus Russia desires strong (domineering) rulers who often are also brutal.

Some have argued that the main reason Lenin prevailed over the Whites is that he was a cruel and domineering person whereas the Whites were altogether trying too much to be reasonable.

It would explain why Stalin is not viewed as so much of a monster in Russia today.