PUTIN: WESTERN ELITE’S ENEMY #1

He was apparently first to call George W. Bush after 9/11 to offer Russia’s help.

He broached the possibility of Russia joining both the EU and NATO.

He declared openly that his intention was for Russia to work with all western elites in close cooperation on areas where a threat existed to them all.

Up until 2007 Vladimir Putin was welcomed in the West as a friend. George W. Bush said he saw a good man when he looked into his eyes.

So, what happened?

Why did Vladimir Putin suddenly become persona non grata? Why did he begin to be treated as a pariah in the West? Why was he suddenly the target of a hundred negative articles and books? Why did western politicians and mainstream media outlets begin to regularly badmouth him from 2007 onward and still do to this day?

Pre-2007 Vladimir Putin was seen as a sober Yeltsin, a man the West could do business with, someone that would lead Russia forward to better times.

Post-2007 Vladimir Putin became branded as a demon dictator, a murderer, a crook and a man to be undermined and gotten rid of as soon as possible.

What brought about this transformation?

The crucial turning point in my view was Putin’s speech on February 10th 2007 at the 43rd Munich Security Conference before the assembled elites of Europe and the USA where he openly criticized the US for its striving for a unipolar world, its unrestrained use of force and its disdain for international law. For the first time since the end of the Cold War he made clear that Russia does not intend to fit in this kind of world order. Despite his criticism, Putin didn't seek confrontation but called for a new partnership on a fair basis.The Western mainstream media, however, distorted his speech and portrayed it as a malicious attack. Watch and judge for yourself, please find the video of the full speech below.

From this time on Vladimir Putin was viewed with utmost suspicion. The conclusion must surely be that he disappointed the belief that Russia could be ‘kept in its place’ as a powerless adjunct to western patrician interests. The realization that this was not at all Putin’s intent must have come as a tremendous shock. That shockwave is with us still.

The video of his address can be found at the foot of this text. It has subtitles in English.

You will note in watching the video that Putin was aware his words might have a somewhat negative reaction. He makes an apology of sorts at the start of his address but undoubtedly he felt it was vital to make plain that Russia had a long and proud history that would not now be suddenly abandoned due to the catastrophic collapse of the Soviet Union.

Note also that Putin is at pains to point out that Russia would engage closely with the West and its elites in developing agreements to combat threats which posed threats common to them all such as international terrorism.

The latter assurances appear to have fallen on deaf ears however and only the fact that they had been given notice that Russia would develop and adhere to its own internal and external policies including foreign policy and that he could not agree with the unipolar concept the USA envisaged and pursued through self-granted global interference.

This is the point where I am sure the image of Vladimir Putin was transformed in western elites’ eyes. He became a threat to their consensus on power and their long-held, self-awarded patrician right to judge others, exert overwhelming influence and declare punishments for bad behavior as perceived by them in relation to their national interests.

If Putin was a criminal seeking only to aggrandize himself the years immediately after Yeltsin were the ideal period to enrich himself through embracing the rising tide of Mafia and oligarchic influence. Instead, step by step he began the task of reducing crime in Russia and made the Yeltsin-era oligarchs pay taxes and refrain from seeking political power through their vast wealth.

As a young man Putin had been something of a street kid, a rebel. What saved him from a life edging toward criminality was taking a degree in law under a fiercely demanding professor and getting deeply involved in learning martial arts. He is no murderer, in fact his abiding ethos and watchwords are the supremacy of law over all things.

Regarding the accusation often made that Putin is a dictator and that Russia is not a true democracy consider these factors: The change from communism to capitalism made so abruptly in 1989 onward devastated Russia. Crime was rampant. Lifespans shortened. Almost every social safety net collapsed. The oligarchs rose fast as privatization schemes saw them mop up billions of shares given to Russians that hadn’t a clue what they meant, their value or what they should do with them. Factories closed. Unemployment soared. Then Putin was selected from around twenty others by Yeltsin as his successor. Putin declined Yeltsin’s offer at first, then relented. Putin, above all else, is a patriot. He became interim president and subsequently won the vote to be president indeed. He was faced with a Russia in free fall with many seeking power over him to enhance their ability to reach ultimate influence. In this situation was he to relinquish the powers the West had insisted should go to the Russian president as Yeltsin took over? If he had done this he would surely have handed Russia over to the oligarchs and Mafia thugs who now saw him as their primary threat. Putin kept those powers and brought them to bear to ensure as smooth a path to Russia regaining stability and a decent governmental income through taxes that would pave the way to future success and the improvement of living conditions for the Russian people. Only now has he felt he can begin to remove the powers invested in the president during Yeltsin’s time. He has clearly gauged that it is now reasonably safe to do so and with a positive referendum result the Russian constitution has been amended to take powers from the president and invest them in the Russian parliament. Putin is no dictator. He is a patriot. His abiding concern is the well being of and the prospects for a better life for all Russians.

But you will judge all this from your own perspective. I would only ask that you watch the video of Putin’s 30-minute address in Munich in 2007 and come to your own conclusions.