Putin's Dictatorial Attacks While Holding Russia Hostage

This March 15, 2018 interview by Christiane Amanpour from London, was a VERY important and interesting one. I hadn't thought about polling in Russia in this way. I hadn't thought about Russian actions as not the actions of a State, but of Putin. I knew it as Putin, but through the State. A very interesting set of issues were brought up in this interview.

I've said this many times having studied USSR, their State apparatus, Russia, their people, their leaders. I have great respect for the Russian people, but in a way as we are with Trump, only for them it is far, far worse, they are held hostage by Putin and his criminal elements in the Russian State secret services, their oligarchs and mafia.

Ex world chess champion and activist Kasparov had run for president in Russia and well, they didn't let him. Another ran and was simply shot. Murdered. He murdered an ex spy in the UK just before his election. Why? REALLY? Why? Seriously. It's quite obvious, isn't it?

Life in Russia under Putin, right? That's what you get in an ex KGB operative becoming leader of a long abused culture, the freedom to continue to abuse it, only in using Soviet and KGB tactics to run it. Like murdering political opponents and ex spies as allegedly just happened in the UK.

About expelling Russian diplomats Garry said:

They're still treating them as a state. Go after those individuals, oligarchs, Putin, go after the money. THEY don't care about the State, about national interests! Don't go after the State. Go after people who actually make the difference. Make them choose between following Putin's criminal orders and their fortunes, their money, their families. Stop looking at this as there is war or no war

Not unlike putting someone like #realDonaldTrump in power as #POTUS. He's going to do what he learned to get away with as a corporate leader who had free reign and cleaned up any wrong doings he did to achieve his status and then do it again. And now, he's president.

Surely, Trump isn't smart enough to be a Putin, nor brave enough (but definitely foolish enough), nor can he have the range of actions Putin does in a Russia of today. Give him time. Do not, allow him a second term or to complete this one. The damage he already has done will take decades to rectify, or even to discover.

Garry rejected Christiane's contention that Putin is popular in Russia, saying, you cannot apply western things such as voting and polling and so on to Russia. It has no meaning there. When there is only one restaurant in town, how do you say it is the most popular one when it's the only one available?

If Putin were popular, why does he have to run for president in this fashion to guarantee a win. Why has he never once been involved in a single debate? Why did Putin clearly murder a dissident in London, other than to solidify his dictatorship control, to warn those who might go against him, to quiet dissent.

Putin believes Garry said, that "his dictatorship must be refreshed from time to time by blood and fear." Dictators and Mafia bosses, don't ask why, they ask, why not?

It's interesting and relevant to note that Garry included there, "Mafia Bosses", almost as a tossed off comment it's so entrenched in the reality of Russia.

And here we are.

Isn't that exactly what we're seeing in Donald Trump, only in an Americanized version of what HE can get away with? He has even said that, time and again.

Putin, is Russia's enemy too, not just ours.

Trump, is our American Putin.