Things are getting ever more worrisome in Russia, as this New York Times piece on Nashi notes: “Youth Groups Created by Kremlin Serve Putinâ??s Cause.” More and more people are coming to realize that the collectivistic and statist nationalism, chauvinism, and racism that is crowding out all other ideologies in Russia may, in fact, be uncontrollable.
Mr. Yashin, the Yabloko leader, said the Kremlin ran a risk of unleashing a wave of activism that could spread beyond its control, especially as Mr. Putinâ??s loyalists fight for control after he steps down, as promised, next year.
â??The authorities may face serious problems,â? he said, â??because all the young people whom they teach today, in whom they invest, whom they teach to organize mass actions, may find themselves in the real opposition when they see that their interests are violated.â?
â??Today they are loyal, but tomorrow they may become the opposition,â? he added. â??And this may not be the young Red Guardâ??s Cultural Revolution, like in China, but something much more serious.â?
Here’s a documentary on Nashi (in French).
These poor saps who are being brainwashed into supporting Putin do not realize how brainwashed they are. I use to support old Dubya (but when he started to support the so-called moderate Palestinian Liberation Organization and our tax dollars head that way, along with having our tax dollars head to brutal African-based dictatorships, Mugabe’s being one of them in the name of fighting HIV/AIDS, I backed down), but even I wasn’t that crazied up as much as these pro-Putin youth groups are like Nashi.
People support Putin mainly because of honest approval of what he does. Whatâ??s not to approve? Centralizing power, establishing strong international presence, confronting enemies perceived and real at home and abroad, continuing growth of the economy, putting an oligarch in jail — come on, who wouldnâ??t support a leader who on top of all these accomplishments has a strong personality!
Sure his policies lead the country towards isolation, loss of freedoms and eventual economic stagnation â?? itâ??s all in HOW he leads the country there!
“People support Putin mainly because of honest approval of what he does. Whatâ??s not to approve? Centralizing power, establishing strong international presence, confronting enemies perceived and real at home and abroad, continuing growth of the economy, putting an oligarch in jail — come on, who wouldnâ??t support a leader who on top of all these accomplishments has a strong personality!
Sure his policies lead the country towards isolation, loss of freedoms and eventual economic stagnation â?? itâ??s all in HOW he leads the country there!”
So was that the same for Hitler, Mussolini, modern dictators like Mao, and his successors like Hu where you are led by a massive occultist-like form of a following? How about Putin’s predecessors dating back all the way toward Lenin?
I consider populism to be flawed because it can certainly be misused in such a manner to promote totalitarism, hench going back to the days of Napoleon as an example. Or just produce someone like John Edwards who gets to spend between 400 to 1200 on a haircut and charge 55k on a speech about poverty.
Let’s also remind “Orkster” of another tyrant. How about the likes of Robert Mugabe, the long-time dictator of Zimbabwe? Zimbabwe even when it was under Rhodesia was known as the bread basket of Africa. Now it’s turning into a wasteland, and Putin also just happens to be buddy-buddies with Mugabe in sending him various arms, along with Putin’s fellow Chinese tyrant-Hu Jintao.
Oh, donâ??t remind me about dictators. I know as well as anyone about where the country is going. Yet some in Russia believe in a â??unique wayâ? of their country. This mentality as well as desire for the western goods, certain peculiarities of modern economy and Russian geography, topped with rampant unprofessionallism of the Russian civil service will make it difficult to create an effective dictatorship and cult of personality in that country.