Putin's Leadership Isn't the Worst Case for Russia

 Crimea became Russian in 1783; for years before the U.S. Constitution was signed into law. It remained part of Russia even after the Soviet Union took over and made it a semi-autonomous oblast yet still within national law. The Crimea has been a part of national Russia for as long as the existence of the U.S.A. and in fact even before. In the middle ages before the Mongol and Muslim invasions the Crimea was part of Russia.

 Europe has looked toward invading Russia for more than a thousand years. It is true that Europeans such as the Germans, French and Polish were not the only invaders for those came from the east and south as well. Even the United States sent 2000 soldiers to fight in Russia during the Russian civil war of 1917. Alternatively besides the perennial Polish-Russian fighting over land (Poland has extended its power all the way to Moscow in the past), the defeat of Sweden’s King Carl Gustav and the Finland issue, Russia has never really been an aggressor against Europe.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued the tradition of Russian being a non-aggressor against Europe.

 Some point to the history of Red Army forces rolling up the German Army and other military forces occupying Eastern Europe during the Second World War as an example of Russian aggression, and that’s just wrong. Russia lost more than 20 million dead because of the German war against it and Stalin’s bad leadership. Russia fought for its survival and won and 50 years after liberating Eastern Europe gave those lands it had liberated independence. Unfortunately the west levered some of Russia too for itself as a kind of bonus. Of course I mean the Crimea and Ukraine.

Former world champion chess grand master Garry Kasparov recently twitted about French President Macron to the effect that he was like Petain cooperating with Hitler.  In my opinion if Mr. Kasparov’s rating at historical analysis were given a chess rating equivalence he would be at best a 1500 player.

https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1000765693317603328

President Putin has been a comparative island of stability during his lengthy period of public service transitioning Russia out of potential anarchy, chaos or even fascist leadership or a return to communism and into a reasonably solid state. Russia can stand a lot of improvement. Make no mistake though, Russia could easily have got a lot worse leadership, and after President Putin completes what is likely his final term, possibly worse leadership.

American government cannot usually run balanced budget, eliminate poverty or public debt, and get copyright registration forms to accept credit cards with an expiration date beyond 2025 or secure the real property rights and interests of ordinary American citizens. Its leaders tend to enjoy the high life of diplomacy and glory while scotching important issues of security and environmentalism. Blaming people and pouting are traditional U.S. government foreign policy methods rather than getting things done.

Believe me- Vlad Putin isn’t the worst case scenario. I hope he can pick a successor as good as Boris Yeltsin did.