Putin's Russia: better and worse
The mysterious poisoning of an ex-KGB spy has heightened debate over the nation's direction.
By Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MOSCOW –
Hearing Yevgeny Butovsky and Antonina Vallik describe the state of their nation, one would think they live in two different countries. In fact, they share a home.
"We are eating our future, and we are being too quiet about it," complains Mr. Butovsky, a successful private farm manager increasingly concerned by the autocratic political system built since President Vladimir Putin was elected in 2000.
But for his homemaker wife, Ms. Vallik, those years have yielded a rise in living standards that has enabled her to widen the scope of her passion - taking in homeless pets. "Any regime is OK for me," she says.
They're not the only ones having this discussion. The debate is rising in Russia, and around the world, over what kind of a state Putin has built, whether it's bearable for its population, and if it is safe to invest in, or be friends with. A recent spate of apparently political killings that some have blamed on the Kremlin - the victims include ex-KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko and investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya - imparts urgency to these questions.
Full article at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p01s04-woeu.html
Personal note: Although this news article tries to offer a balanced view of Putin & Russia, but why kill people if he has nothing to hide? Why clamp down on human rights, private business, media etc when the govt has nothing to be afraid of & Putin is an honest man? This is but a return to dictatorship & all opposition must be silenced so that the russian elite can continue to enjoy their lives while others languish. There is a hidden deadly undercurrent as in the article. There seems to be 2 Russia to 2 kinds of Russians. But according to bible prophecy, Russia represented by Gog-Magog will head an army to attack Israel. This kind of warlikeness is barbaric in these modern times of peace. Putin is but an evil man. Same for his associates. To kill innocent people who speak out for justice is evil. This evil regime will meet its end in the Gog-Magog war. Then they will realise too late. I pray they repent first before this folly.
By Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MOSCOW –
Hearing Yevgeny Butovsky and Antonina Vallik describe the state of their nation, one would think they live in two different countries. In fact, they share a home.
"We are eating our future, and we are being too quiet about it," complains Mr. Butovsky, a successful private farm manager increasingly concerned by the autocratic political system built since President Vladimir Putin was elected in 2000.
But for his homemaker wife, Ms. Vallik, those years have yielded a rise in living standards that has enabled her to widen the scope of her passion - taking in homeless pets. "Any regime is OK for me," she says.
They're not the only ones having this discussion. The debate is rising in Russia, and around the world, over what kind of a state Putin has built, whether it's bearable for its population, and if it is safe to invest in, or be friends with. A recent spate of apparently political killings that some have blamed on the Kremlin - the victims include ex-KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko and investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya - imparts urgency to these questions.
Full article at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1204/p01s04-woeu.html
Personal note: Although this news article tries to offer a balanced view of Putin & Russia, but why kill people if he has nothing to hide? Why clamp down on human rights, private business, media etc when the govt has nothing to be afraid of & Putin is an honest man? This is but a return to dictatorship & all opposition must be silenced so that the russian elite can continue to enjoy their lives while others languish. There is a hidden deadly undercurrent as in the article. There seems to be 2 Russia to 2 kinds of Russians. But according to bible prophecy, Russia represented by Gog-Magog will head an army to attack Israel. This kind of warlikeness is barbaric in these modern times of peace. Putin is but an evil man. Same for his associates. To kill innocent people who speak out for justice is evil. This evil regime will meet its end in the Gog-Magog war. Then they will realise too late. I pray they repent first before this folly.
posted by Sinner saved by grace at 5:51 PM
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