Putin wants return of Soviet Union, but not Soviet Union!

[Branko2166]

starcraft said:

NotStan said:
I liked the premise of Soviet Union, what I didn't like is what it turned out to be after years of dictator after dictator, and constant global squabbling between the west and the east.

I like Putin, he's a man with a vision, however he's going to have a hard time enforcing that vision in a good way, and there's always a chance that if he steps down then his predecessor will be of a different mind.

Your choice of verb there is the exact reason why Putin isn't good for the rest of the world at large PERIOD or Russia in the medium and long term.

I disagree with him being bad for Russia and all you have to do is look at Russia when he came into power and now. There seems to be a very misguided view which is held by many that somehow democracy solves everything and that democratic nations are natural allies. A democratic Russia will still pursue it's own national interests as all other countries do and should.

The west had a 10 year window of oppurtunity from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to truly engage and embrace Russia while it was weak. Instead, the US continued expanding NATO and even started accepting former Soviet republics into the military alliance. All this served to reinforce Russia's greatest fears. That the west was talking about engagement while it was more than happy to box Russia in. This situation allowed the hardliners including Putin to come to power.

The tipping point was the Georgia conflict where Russia drew a line in the sand and started to push back. Instead of realising the limits of its power and working with other great powers the US seems intent on removing as many unfriendly governments and starting more wars. Sadly it appears that we are headed for a major showdown in the Middle East involviong the great powers and Iran/Syria/Lebannon/Israel. I hope I'm wrong though.