The Red and Black

I agree with you in many ways but there are still fundamental cultural and economic factors that you left from your analysis.

The majority of Russians adamantly support Vladimir Putin. The West sees him as a bad guy, but his position as Prime Minister is democratically sound. He's an advocate of Russian businesses and their success, which in turn is why Russia controls all of the natural gas in Europe. What country wouldn't want to be a brutal economic force?

Also, the anti-American sentiment isn't as real as we'd like to believe. Having been to Russia, it's more appropriate to say that the economic crisis of the late 1990s caused these modern anti-west sentiments. While America was booming during that time period, Russia was suffering immensely and no one seemed to care. Putin salvaged the economy and restored many failing Russian markets.

I think this was a well thought article, but be careful in portraying other countries' leaders as corrupt or a "plague" especially when they are legitimately backed by their people. This further confuses readers who don't know much about the situation to begin with.

Kirk,

You know i love you man, but you're crazy if you think Russia is the biggest threat to American interests these days. Not even remotely, remotely close.

Chinese economic dominance is the primary threat to america's future interest.

The continued spread of islamic fundamentalism is second.

Russia might be third. But really, Russia sucks. They have very little prestige or trust with anyone, anywhere in the world. Their economy still sucks, despite a small boon they've had from rising oil prices. The country no longer has a united national will. Saber-rattling is just that: rattling. Russia does not pose a threat to america in any way, shape or form. The only small threat Russia poses to anyone is that they could invade a couple of small, insignificant countries and waste hundreds of billions of dollars trying to occupy them unsuccessfully for no benefit (see: Afghanistan 1980's). How that threatens America, i don't know.

Anyone who thinks Russia is of no concern to U.S. foreign policy needs to get up from their X-box 360, take out their little white I-pod headphones, and read a newspaper.

good comments,

I would say the greatest threat right now is Pakistan but I agree in principle with Kirk's point. Putin's position as Prime Minister is an overtly corrupt enterprise. He is maintaining power in the same ways that dictators have classically done, in the guise of acting in the best interest of the country. He does maintain 70%+ approval ratings in Russia b/c he took them from a terrible economic situation and utterly powerless nation to economic prosperity and incredible national power all based on oil. He has had no qualms about exercising Russian power in ways that are less than civil. I don't think anyone is innocent in this situation, but he is certainly is shaping up to be the next authoratarian tyrant that we will face.

The greatest threat to this country right now is the ignorance and apathy of the American people as we sit on the brink of becoming a totally socialist country coupled with the possible election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

All great civilizations have basically crumbled from within.

Oh, and by the way.

"That plague is caused by Putin, a ruler that has long held Russia in a vice and prevented the forward motion and development it was entitled to following the collapse of the Soviet Union."

You may think Putin is a "plague," and you are entitled to your own opinion, but your facts here are off. Putin was elected president in 2000, nearly a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union. The president before Putin, and the one responsible for Russia "following the collapse of the Soviet Union" was Boris Yeltsin, whose administration was partly responsible for widespread corruption and economic crises throughout the 90's.

Putin's administration brought with it, whether coincidentally or not, relative stabilization and then progress for Russia.

Plus, it would be good to note that Putin is now Prime Minister. Dimitry Medvedev is president. And the office of the president holds vast powers in the Russian constitution.

Well, if you're so aware that Putin has only been in office since 2000, then it still doesn't make sense how he had anything to do with Russia's progress "following the collapse of the Soviet Union."

And as for Putin's "strong arm" tactics, that you suppose are worse than anything Yeltsin did. Since you maybe have a little bit of background on Russian history and politics, maybe you remember 1993, when thousands of demonstrators marched to protest Yeltsin for the government corruption and the economic crisis (which was caused by Yeltsin's quick jump to free-market economy).
You may remember that Yeltsin then ordered tanks to shell Russia's parliament building. Hundreds of people died, and thousands more were wounded. Yeltsin initiated the First Chechen War, which also resulted in thousands of deaths. President Clinton expressed his disappointment in Yeltsin's decisions on the war. Yeltsin made a famous comment that President Clinton had "forgotten that Russia has a full arsenal of nuclear weapons."

And yet Putin so far has far outshone Yeltsin in his "strong armed tactics?"

Maybe, in the U.S. viewpoint, Putin has been as aggressive or more than Yeltsin in foreign policy. But my original correction for you involved your incorrect comment that Putin was responsible for keeping Russia from developmental progress after the fall of the Soviet Union.

It is clear that the Russian state, economy, and people are all much better off so far under Putin's administration (and now Medvedev's).

If your question is how Putin has impacted FOREIGN AFFAIRS and opinion, then make that clear and leave comments about Russia's interior development alone. You clearly don't know what life is like in Russia, and how it was not long ago.

And as to your very original comments about Medvedev being a puppet for Putin, etc.

First of all, you say you would "mention Medvedev if he wasn't one of Putin's cronies." So the President of Russia deserves no mention at all then, because he obviously has no mind of his own. While the hidden power of Putin may still be true, it is stupid to ignore the president and his very real power and to focus all blame/praise/whatever comment on Putin alone.

Secondly, good work listening to the news media/U.S. politicians and being a puppet yourself. Of course Putin is still secretly calling the shots. Everyone is saying it.