Yeah, some people would hate me for writing this, but I think that the rap against Putin, while valid, misses the point. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, a lot of Russians felt that they could become like the United States overnight. They were wrong. What occurred next was rampant corruption, a significant decrease in Russia's influence and power, and a sharp 180-degree turn from communism to capitalism that (understandably) left a whole lot of people behind. This was the situation when Putin took office. Since then, he has revived Russia's economy and influence, and his people love him for it. He has done this by anti-democratic means, admittedly, but it's worth noting that Russia never had any transition between communism and capitalism, and Putin seems to be providing something close to that, which might ironically loosen up the ground for a more robust democracy in the future.
What interests me is how much he's hated by the conservatives in this country. He's no champion of democracy, but neither is the Saudi Royal Family or Hosni Mubarak (or Pervez Musharraf), yet we happily deal with them. Sure, he does business with some pretty bad people, like Iran, but many conservatives still defend Ollie North. Maybe it's that he's no fan of unbridled capitalism. Or maybe it's that he declines to follow Bush's directives. One suspects that's the real reason why he's disliked. Why all the rancor against Putin and Ahmadinejad (and Hugo Chavez, for that matter)? This is not to say that they're good people, by any means, but there are worse in the world, and some of those folks are valued allies of the United States. Conservatives seem to dislike any opponent who is outspoken in any way. I wonder why.
