Gorbachev endorses Putin in election and says Russia is serious partner of West

[Purveyor]

Source: Times Online UK

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, called for Russians to vote for President Putin's United Russia party in parliamentary elections on Sunday.

“I would vote for him and I support him. Based on what I know, and comparing him with other candidates, I would prefer Putin,” Mr Gorbachev told The Times in an exclusive interview.

Mr Gorbachev's endorsement of President Putin will surprise his many friends in the West. He was adamant, however, and praised Mr Putin's handling of the country that he inherited seven years ago. He called on the West to take Russia seriously as a partner.

“It is a fact that within Russia Putin is supported by up to 80 per cent of the population. For me that is a more persuasive argument as I live in Russia.

“He has brought stabilisation to Russia. Not everyone would have been able to cope with the kind of legacy that he inherited from Boris Yeltsin. I did not think he would succeed but he did succeed in preventing total collapse in the country. He began solving some important social and economic problems and re-established governance in Russia. That has opened the way to the possibility of launching real modernisation.”


Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2961714.ece

[Taverner]

1. People are so quick to put our relationship with Russia in one of the old boxes

Russia has dreams of being an imperial power. They always have. From the Czars to the USSR to Putin. Putin understands the keys to the new empirehood have less to do with military might (although it helps) than economic might. That's what he's up to. Of course we can stand by and say "Bad Russia! No empire!" but that would be hypocritical. We, too, are an empire.

Russia does not want to "bury us" per se, but they would love to see us stop shooting our guns around like drunken cowboys in what they see as their sphere of interest. Like Elizabeth's England and the Spanish Armada, we too are a power drunk neo-theocracy who would see nothing of burning all of our resources in order to "win", whatever the fuck that means in today's world. If we continue down this path, expect us to run out of money, go bankrupt, with China and Russia ready to "help" us for a price.

If you want to see what the US is going to be like, look to Post-Dien Bien Phu France.

[russian33]

4. i think one of the main problems is...

..we, US, really believe that democracy, in our form (well, not present form, but in its true form) is possible in Russia...it MIGHT, in about 50-100 years of evolution...but since the days of Czars, thru communism rule, Russian and russians were used to that iron fist rule...not saying that's good, but believe me, it had its benefits, I live there till 1991...and when they got 'democracy', well, what happened was chaos...and one of the super-powers in the world, the biggest country in the world, became almost third-world like...and Putin reversed that! and stabalized the country.
yeah, I'm sure that not everything he does falls in line with our idea of democracy, but not everything Bushco does falls into that line also...that's why we look kind of stupid complaining about Putin's rule :)
I have family there, friends...they're happy...happier than they were in the 1990's...they get paid on time, they get their pension on time, the ruble is stable, corruption is down, crime is down...they like the guy

[Taverner]

6. Putin reminds me of the Big Machine Mayors of old...

Like Daley in Chicago. He was corrupt, but people got paid.

Russia plays geopolitics like chess, while we're playing it like checkers. We're off doing a "king me" in Iraq, while they're two moves away from "checkmate"

[bigworld]

7. That's the Russian mind for you

Complex and cunning, and they have an end goal in sight -- leaving their opponents either in chess or politics utterly bewildered and bitterly beaten.

[bemildred]

2. Attaboy Mikhail. Nice to see you're still around.

:applause:

[russian33]

3. well, I'll be damned...

Gorbachev actually came to his senses...nice to see a change from the man i love to hate

"He has brought stabilisation to Russia. Not everyone would have been able to cope with the kind of legacy that he inherited from Boris Yeltsin. I did not think he would succeed but he did succeed in preventing total collapse in the country"

very, very true!!!

[bigworld]

5. If Russia ever straightens out,

gets rid of gangsterism, corruption, inefficiency and pervasive alcoholism, it will be a true superpower. It's got natural resources aplenty, a clever and educated workforce, and good access to deep ports.

Putin has an authoritarian streak, to be sure, but Russia has always needed that, I think. Like him or not (I don't), he is lifting Russia as a nation.

[russian33]

8. agree 100%

"but Russia has always needed that"
so true...that was my point in the other post...it'll take a long time to change that, because it's rooted in the culture, and in the people..their foray into 'democracy' resulted in government sponsored looting of country resources, poverty, and almost complete elimination of middle class