Putinland celebrated Christmas on January 7. Dmitry Medvedev wished Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens a Merry Christmas:
"Christmas gives us the inextinguishable light of faith and fills us with joy and hope. This is a time of good intentions, kind deeds, and care for loved ones and strangers seeking our help and assistance. Compassion, mutual respect, tolerance, love for one's family, one's people and the Fatherland – these are the values underlying human civilisation.
For centuries, the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian faiths in our nation have been passing these values on from generation to generation. They help greatly to strengthen civil peace and harmony in our society and improve its morals, as well as to educate youth in the spirit of respect toward our nation's historical and cultural heritage.
As we share the joy of this holiday, I wish you health, prosperity and all the best. I hope that the Star of Bethlehem will bring happiness, love and harmony to every home, and prosperity to our nation."
Basil Venitis, venitis@gmail.com, points out Czar Putin promotes theocracy to perpetuate his power. Across Russia, popular affection for Putin turns to religious worship. In Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, a proliferation of posters show Putin as an angel, with one hand extended, blessing the city's inhabitants. Putin's face is mounted on a photo of the cherubim crowning the
city's Peter and Paul Cathedral. http://venitism.blogspot.com
There are many churches of Saint Putin all over Russia! Mother Fotina declares
Putin is the reincarnation of Saint Paul and he has the spirit of a czar in him!
Golden butterflies and cherubs adorn her homemade altar. Fotina swings a smoking
censer before an icon of Saint Putin! Mother Fotina believes God has sent Putin
to Russia to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ!
Welcome to Putinland, where the president and prime minister swap jobs at will,
where the constitution is an empty shell and all power rests with Vladimir
Putin. The deal between him and President Dmitry Medvedev is a farce. The proud
Russian nation resembles a modern grand duchy.
The intransigence of Vladimir Putin, who is showing no sign of ceding to protesters' demands for free and fair elections, might be just the impetus Putinland's civil society needs to spur it into existence.
The organizers of Putinland's protests have gone to great lengths to avoid violence. Anti-corruption bloggers appeal to Putinland's liberal intelligentsia and might be able to channel rising nationalism in a constructive direction.
A Russian Spring could ultimately be a great buying opportunity. Picture a Putinland in which entrepreneurs no longer face crushing bribery costs, shareholders have rights and investing is more about value than guessing whom the Kremlin will favor. Revolution could bring an economic renaissance.
The electoral game Putin is playing is castling in chess – a saint and a czar
swapping places, in order to shore up the defense. There might be defense at the
heart of the strategy, but Putin's ruling party, United Russia, is still the
only game in Moscow. Vladimir Putin is the most powerful man in the world. His
success is all the more venerable when one considers that Putin is leader of a
country of nearly 150 million people — and at the helm of the one of the world's
most important economies.
The current double-headed eagle of President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin has become increasingly authoritarian. Despite numerous
commitments under international law, the government has tightened controls on
political life, civil society, and the media. Disruption of political
opposition's activities, restricting access to state-controlled TV, human right
violations, such as the beating of demonstrators who support the Russian
constitution, murder of journalists and anti-corruption activists, disappearance
and torture, abuse of the legal system for monetary and political gain, all
illustrate this negative trend. Putin, a former penniless KGB agent, is now
billionaire, thanks to kickbacks!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.