Czar-Prising

Well the elections in Russia are over, and I can’t even feign surprise at the outcome. Not only am I not surprised that the Czar won, nor am I shocked at the way he did it.

What is shocking to me, and should be disturbing to the West is why he did it. Putin undermined the fledgling democracy in Russia when he had no reason to do so, he would have won regardless.

Let us take a brief, stereotypical, look at the kind of leadership that the Russians hail as great. Ivan the Terrible, also killed large swaths of people, expanding Russia into the Siberian wonderland, and destroyed entire populations on the mere possibility that they may betray him.

Carrying on the tradition of might makes right is or good friend Peter the Great, who despite having a better nickname than Ivan, did some of the same nasty stuff. The modern father of Russia, Peter did some very forcible stuff in order to modernize Russia and make it a world power.

Then of course is the self named “Man of Steel” Stalin himself. Who ruled with brutal authority where morality was never even an afterthought. Stalin’s quote, “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic” gives us a unique look into his mindset.

Then of course we have Bush’s buddy Putin. Though he doesn’t have the body count, Putin gives what the Russian people typically crave: vodka. Seriously though, they desire a leader that does two things, makes decisions that makes Russia a strong global power, and gives them edible food at home.

How successful has this policy been for the Russian people? Lets put it this way, they had controlled the Balkans and most of the ‘Stans, and there was about a third of the violence that is going on now.

Putin fits this mold as a former KGB agent of making the hard decisions no matter the moral implications and only focusing on the National Interest. That happens to fit the mold of the Russian leaders to a t, combined with what the Russians call a personality, and he was golden.

What is troubling is the lengths he went to in order to secure that electoral victory, by fooling with the process. Unfortunately, rampant insecurity is also a Russian leadership trait that can have disastrous results. For there comes a time when leaders lose the ability to function competently and do more harm than good. President Bush hit that barrier in early 2000.

What these two have in common besides misunderestimating the other is a dunce, is damaging making decisions that damage their respective countries in the short term, but set precedents in place that could cause untold damage in the future.

Not that we couldn’t see this coming, as they are both self entitled personalities that believe they have moral authority to do what they wish. It also helps that their political opposition is too afraid to challenge these bullies of in their respective playgrounds. Hopefully I am wrong, but that would be Czar-Prising.

Morals are What you make of them

Well I guess President Bush has had a impact on old Vlady after all.  The insistence that Tsar Putin was really a nice guy, and that all the KGB history was in the past.  Putin did believe in democracy and morality so long as they serve his purposes of expanding his hold on power.  In truth Bush saw himself in Putin, granted it was a smarter, able to drink alcohol, and be openly hostile to your opposition version of himself, but then that is almost everybody.

It appears that the Russian President/Tsar/Universal Leader has found God.  Not the “I promise to help the poor, feed the hungry, be just to my fellow man and good person” kind of God, but rather the “how can I use this for my own personal agenda” God.  You know, the things that Muslims and Republicans have been doing for years.

Putin has said that he has a “moral right” to continue to be involved in Russian politics.  Its interesting to note he did not use the phrase “moral responsibility” probably because their is no Russian equivalent word for responsibility the closest they come to it is “vodka” meaning no poor results.  Which would be debatable if you have seen the women in Siberia - Zing!

That roar of silence you hear is the hippy generation not getting upset that a man that has used strong arm tactics to get what he wants and will use whatever means possible to keep in power who also has questionable security of their nuclear arsenal, who is not of Islamic disposition.  I figured Europe would have a problem with a dude bringing back the old days, not getting upset with a Pakistani doing what rulers over their have always done- try to keep hold on power.

Author’s Aside - As I have gracefully, and effortlessly drawn Pakistan and Russia together, I would like to take this opportunity to speak with Benizar Bhutto for a moment.  I respect you.  It takes some stones to immediately turn on the guy who offered you immunity so you could come back to the dung-heap you guys call a country.  Then being more opportunistic that a fraternity finding a drunken heap of sorority girls immediately pouncing on civil unrest so you could oust that very same guy from power.  But to keep talking when you are under arrest and being told to shut up while the country is being burned down by people who hate you, and your own followers trying to prove martial law is unnecessary, is a sure way for you to find your way “falling” out of a window.  

Moving on,  what the aforementioned munchie generation needs to understand is that they should be cool with a guy keeping his population in line that has some weird ideologies that may involve nuclear holocaust.  It is for the greater good after all, the end all be all of circular reasoning.  Why else have moral standards if you can’t break them now and again when it is convenient.  Thats why morals are what you make of them.

Czar Putin: Our World’s Greatest Hope

There were some rivalries that echo through the annals of history and that pushed the world to become a more advanced better place. These included Greece and Persia; Rome and Carthage; Great Britain and France; and the United States and the Soviet Union. I know some people are trying to make China the next Super Power we can maybe have a rivalry with, but it just doesn’t have the same feel of mutual disdain and mistrust like the good ones.

Maybe it is Human Nature to reminisce about better times, but it truly felt that we were safer when the world was on the brink of nuclear destruction. Everything just had more meaning to it in the old days, a prime example would be the Olympics. There was really truly human drama going on. Everybody watching knew if the Russian figure skater, or gymnast fell or did something to mess up the routine, she was going to get shot for “failing the state”.

Now our Olympic rivalries come in the form of individual events, instead of in terms of most medals won. To underscore this point, Australia is our biggest rival in swimming. Whoopdy frekin do, I mean I like Australia, with its exports of Outback Steakhouse, Fosters beer commercials and crazy wildlife show hosts, but I can’t get geared up to beat them in any kind of competition, they are just not on our level.

It was not only the Olympics that was more riveting, but the Middle East was a much quieter place too. I mean their choices (in their eyes) were: Deal with the Infidel Christian Western Crusaders who pay us good money for oil; or Deal with the Infidel Atheist Communist Soviets who will pay us less money for oil. But the Soviet Union couldn’t just leave well enough alone could they, although it must have been pretty bad if they felt they needed to invade Afghanistan for natural resources, since all they are known for is dirt, opium, and sand.

There is hope for those of us who dream of better times, for Russia is now led by a former KGB agent who understands the need for a new Soviet State. Czar Putin has taken the frail democracy that semi-legitimately existed and has molded what the Russian people truly want, a power on the global stage. Who needs to feed citizens or protect nuclear missile bunkers when you can challenge the United States over having a missile shield?

The Soviet Union was the perfect enemy for the United States to stand against. As an economic system the Soviets believed they would truly win in the long run, therefore they would push militarily when it was advantageous. However, they could be deterred should the advantage not be highly in their favor. In addition it cannot be discounted that the necessity of the state to undermine religious authority, may have also impacted this decision. When one believes either their is no afterlife, or the afterlife they will go to is a warm, they will do what they can to postpone such dismal outlooks.

We were the morally righteous, altogether insensitive but meaning well Americans. We may have “interfered” in a few places but only to make sure that people could be treated as people. At least our heart was in the right place.

That is all that Czar Putin is attempting to do; bring the world to a safer more stable place. The world was never more safe than when it was on the verge of Destruction, and that is why Czar Putin is our greatest hope.