General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What is the "hard left"? [View all]Expecting Rain
(811 posts)with regard to Putin's rise. Post-Soviet Russia had a collapsed economy and largely did feel humiliated by the collapse of their empire. The rise of a nationalist was predictable.
We agree on Gorbachev over Yeltsin. It is always a bad decision to back populists. Gorbachev was head and shoulders better than Yeltsin. But Russians blame Gorbachev for the loss of their empire. I wish the United States had the power to "save" him. We did not.
I don't know why you'd believe a nationalist-populist wouldn't turn to a strong man. That's par for the course with such movements.
We didn't treat Russia like a vanquished nation. You are blaming the United States for the former KGB officer's human rights abuses in Russia, and suggest if we were softer on Putin that he'd relax? Do you really believe that?
I think it is naive (and insulting) that the captive peoples of Eastern Europe and those who pulled down the wall should have contained their feelings of liberation from Soviet Communism. The end of that empire was a victory.