tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11306845.post114543205678846105..comments2024-03-28T03:19:40.014-04:00Comments on The Y Files: Ill tidings from RussiaCathy Younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09688616617444359647noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11306845.post-1145863797345222802006-04-24T03:29:00.000-04:002006-04-24T03:29:00.000-04:00I just got finished reading the Good Earth for a l...I just got finished reading the Good Earth for a literature thing I'm part of at the moment and...I was noting that the cycle of Farmers moving to the City only to move back out to the Farm was still in play in China. <BR/><BR/>I bring this up because I guess Russia is experiencing a similar old cycle become new.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11306845.post-1145501827533041692006-04-19T22:57:00.000-04:002006-04-19T22:57:00.000-04:00Some areas of the world simply seem to take to dem...Some areas of the world simply seem to take to democracy more easily than others. I have had high hopes for the Russians; it's been nice not having them as an arch-enemy anymore. We're right to be worried about Iran, but these folks are still able to give us an even bigger headache.Lori Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12907163214797942192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11306845.post-1145481136186573712006-04-19T17:12:00.000-04:002006-04-19T17:12:00.000-04:00I think Putin, or his popularity, is a symptom ins...I think Putin, or his popularity, is a symptom instead of a cause. This is a society undergoing huge stresses with a Byzantine political heritage - tsarist or Communist, or Islamic for that matter; Turkey is basiclly in the same cultural boat when it comes to political culture - and people in a crisis revert to what has worked in the past. The sad thing is that the (bad) remedies may actually have some short-term success, and be validated as far as the public is concerned. Putin became truly popular after the Chechen war flared up again,and people liked his brutality. Even the other, deepr promlems, such as the corruption and the ate-up economy, may respond short-term to his centralizing and autocratic style.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11306845.post-1145476336788668482006-04-19T15:52:00.000-04:002006-04-19T15:52:00.000-04:00Does Putin have an heir apparent, or is there some...Does Putin have an heir apparent, or is there some hope that things might revert to a more democratic state once he's no longer on the scene?Revenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374515200055384226noreply@blogger.com