“I realize that this will displease many people [in the West],” says Fred Weir, Moscow correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor for 25 years. "But Russian patriotism protects him."
Aug 28·edited Aug 28Liked by Two Grumpy Old Men on Ukraine
Hello! Thanks for writing this piece.
The Times in particular seem determined to predict Putin's downfall at least once a fortnight, and it's unfortunate. To me, it seems to hand propagandists in the Russian Federation a small win, because they can say "Look at all this BS in the Western press; they're living in a fantasy!". Or they can twist it slightly into a conspiratorial "Look how the West is threatening our president" type of narrative.
Nice to see some pushback on this; we can only do our part to help Ukraine win if we keep things realistic.
When in Russia for the late Yeltsin/early Putin years I remember more than one hardliner lamenting the lack of resolve displayed in the 1989-1991 period when the security services chose not to harshly and even violently suppress dissent. It’s very likely that threatening mobs will get more than a whiff of grapeshot.
Yes, alas, though we would like to believe it, it's too rosy a vision. In the wise words of Lady Violet from Downton Abbey, which I'm sure you all watched, "Never mistake a wish for a certainty."
Hello! Thanks for writing this piece.
The Times in particular seem determined to predict Putin's downfall at least once a fortnight, and it's unfortunate. To me, it seems to hand propagandists in the Russian Federation a small win, because they can say "Look at all this BS in the Western press; they're living in a fantasy!". Or they can twist it slightly into a conspiratorial "Look how the West is threatening our president" type of narrative.
Nice to see some pushback on this; we can only do our part to help Ukraine win if we keep things realistic.
Keep up the good work :-)
K
....I agree.
When in Russia for the late Yeltsin/early Putin years I remember more than one hardliner lamenting the lack of resolve displayed in the 1989-1991 period when the security services chose not to harshly and even violently suppress dissent. It’s very likely that threatening mobs will get more than a whiff of grapeshot.
Yes, alas, though we would like to believe it, it's too rosy a vision. In the wise words of Lady Violet from Downton Abbey, which I'm sure you all watched, "Never mistake a wish for a certainty."
... so true, so true.