History Quotes / VladimirPutin

A number of British right-wingers have long admired the Russian president for his [[PatroticFervor unapologetic assertion of Russian power]], his promotion of 'traditional' values (see [[HeteronormativeCrusader gay baiting]]) and his cynicism when dealing with [[HobbesWasRight 'decadent' democratic governments]]. Alex Salmond and Nigel Farage, both leaders of burgeoning nationalist parties (Scottish and English respectively), have named the butcher of Chechnya as the one politician they 'most admire,' with Farage describing Putin’s cynical manipulation of the conflict in Syria as 'brilliant.'"''

A number of British right-wingers have long admired the Russian president for his [[HobbesWasRight unapologetic assertion of Russian power]], his promotion of 'traditional' values (see [[HeteronormativeCrusader gay baiting]]) and his cynicism when dealing with [[HobbesWasRight 'decadent' democratic governments]]. Alex Salmond and Nigel Farage, both leaders of burgeoning nationalist parties (Scottish and English respectively), have named the butcher of Chechnya as the one politician they 'most admire,' with Farage describing Putin’s cynical manipulation of the conflict in Syria as 'brilliant.'"''

-->--On [[HobbesWasRight the legacy]] of Joseph Stalin

->''"After a few years in office, [[UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin (Boris) Yeltsin]] had soiled his reputation as a reforming democrat. There was his strategy of brutal overkill in Chechnya and the way he empowered, under the banner of [[PrivatelyOwnedSociety privatization]], a small circle of billionaire oligarchs to soak up Russia’s resources and help run the country. 'Democracy' was roundly known as ''dermokratiya''—'[[DemocracyIsBad shitocracy]]'...Buoyed by the sharp rise in energy prices, Putin was able to do what Yeltsin had not: he won enormous popular support by paying salaries and pensions, eliminating budget deficits, and creating a growing urban middle class. It was hardly a secret that Putin had also created his own oligarchy, with old Leningrad pals and colleagues from the security forces now running, and robbing, the state’s vast energy enterprises. This almost unimaginably corrupt set of arrangements, which came to be known as Kremlin, Inc., outraged nearly everyone, but the relative atmosphere of stability, in which tens of millions of Russians enjoyed a sense of economic well-being and private liberty, provided Putin with a kind of authoritarian legitimacy."''

-->--'''James Bloodworht''', [[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/15/putin-s-useful-british-idiots.html "Putins' Useful (British) Idiots"]]

A number of British right-wingers have long admired the Russian president for his [[HobbesWasRight unapologetic assertion of Russian power]], his promotion of 'traditional' values (see [[HeteronormativeCrusader gay baiting]]) and his cynicism when dealing with [[DemocracyIsBad 'decadent' democratic governments]]. Alex Salmond and Nigel Farage, both leaders of burgeoning nationalist parties (Scottish and English respectively), have named the butcher of Chechnya as the one politician they 'most admire,' with Farage describing Putin’s cynical manipulation of the conflict in Syria as 'brilliant.'"''

-->--Echoing Piotr Stolypin, Prime Minister to Tsar Nicholas II

->'''A questioner''': "Who rules Russia when you and the President sleep?"
->'''Putin''': "We take turns sleeping."

->'''Larry King''': "What happened to the submarine RFS Kursk?"
->'''Putin''': "[[CaptainObvious It sunk.]]"

->''“Putin now talks more about ideology and about the system of values and the spiritual origins of Russia. In this sense, he, too, is a person of tardy development. He became President unexpectedly. He had no preparation for this role. He had to respond to challenges in the course of things. At first, he had to reconsolidate the state. Now he has inspired a new energy that can be drawn from the national character and the system of values that are rooted in our culture...it is comparable among his predecessors in the twentieth century only with Stalin.”''

->''"[[SlouchOfVillainy Slouching in a fancy chair]] in front of a dozen reporters, Putin squirmed and rambled. And rambled and rambled. He was a rainbow of emotion: Serious! angry! bemused! flustered! confused! So confused... Gone was the old Putin, the one who loves these kinds of press events. He'd come a long way from the painfully awkward gray FSB officer on Larry King, a year into his tenure. He had grown to become the master of public speaking... That Putin was not the Putin we saw today. Today's Putin was nervous, angry, cornered, and paranoid, periodically illuminated by flashes of his own righteousness. Here was an authoritarian dancing uncomfortably in his new dictator shoes, squirming in his throne."''

-->--echoing Piotr Stolypin, Prime Minister to Tsar Nicholas II

-->--On [[[HobbesWasRight the legacy]] of Joseph Stalin

->''"It's clear that from 1924 to 1953, the country led by [[JosephStalin Stalin]] changed fundamentally... industrialization certainly did take place. We won the Great Patriotic War. And whatever anyone may say, victory was achieved. Even when we consider the losses, [[HobbesWasRight no one now can throw stones]] at those who planned and led this victory."''
-->--On the legacy of Joseph Stalin

->''"After a few years in office, [[UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin (Boris) Yeltsin]] had soiled his reputation as a reforming democrat. There was his strategy of brutal overkill in Chechnya and the way he empowered, under the banner of [[PrivatelyOwnedSociety privatization]], a small circle of billionaire oligarchs to soak up Russia’s resources and help run the country. 'Democracy' was roundly known as ''dermokratiya''—'[DemocracyIsBad shitocracy]]'...Buoyed by the sharp rise in energy prices, [[UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin (Vladimir) Putin]] was able to do what Yeltsin had not: he won enormous popular support by paying salaries and pensions, eliminating budget deficits, and creating a growing urban middle class. It was hardly a secret that Putin had also created his own oligarchy, with old Leningrad pals and colleagues from the security forces now running, and robbing, the state’s vast energy enterprises. This almost unimaginably corrupt set of arrangements, which came to be known as Kremlin, Inc., outraged nearly everyone, but the relative atmosphere of stability, in which tens of millions of Russians enjoyed a sense of economic well-being and private liberty, provided Putin with a kind of authoritarian legitimacy."''

->''"The clock has moved back to the [[TheEighties 1980s.]]"''

-->--'''Putin''' on his {un}reported net worth

-->--'''Putin'''

->''"I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia - I believe that is my greatest wealth."''

-->--'''John McCain'''

->''"The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in Western Europe.”''
-->--'''MikhailGorbachev'''

->''"[[SlouchOfVillainy Slouching in a fancy chair]] in front of a dozen reporters, Putin squirmed and rambled. And rambled and rambled. He was a rainbow of emotion: Serious! angry! bemused! flustered! confused! So confused... Gone was the old Putin, the one who loves these kinds of press events. He'd come a long way from the painfully awkward gray FSB officer on Larry King, a year into his tenure. He had grown to become the master of public speaking.. That Putin was not the Putin we saw today. Today's Putin was nervous, angry, cornered, and paranoid, periodically illuminated by flashes of his own righteousness. Here was an authoritarian dancing uncomfortably in his new dictator shoes, squirming in his throne."''

->''"The most puzzling development in politics during the last decade is the apparent determination of Western European leaders to re-create the Soviet Union in Western Europe.”

-->--'''[[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116852/merkel-was-right-putins-lost-his-mind-press-conference Julia Ioffe]], "Putin's Press Conference Proved Merkel Right: He's Nuts"

->''"There is no such thing as a former KGB man."''

-->--'''[[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116852/merkel-was-right-putins-lost-his-mind-press-conference Julia Ioffe]], "Putin's Press COnference Proved Merkel Right: He's Nuts"

->''There is no such thing as a former KGB man.''

-->--Putin in response to Sergei Stepashin calling himself "a former KGB officer"

->'''Putin''': "[[KickTheDog It sunk.]]"

->'''An interviewer''': "Who rules Russia when you and the President sleep?"

-->--From an live television call-in show in 2010