Quote Originally Posted by andy6025 View Post
I did too and I quite liked his speech. I didn’t find anything in it to disagree with.

Interesting that you thought the audience wasn’t genuinely receptive, given that his popularity ratings are rather high. Then again, I’m sure you probably believe the western media propaganda that Putin is an authoritarian dictator that rules with an iron fist. The fact is that among Russian political circles he’s actually quite a moderate.

High ratings? Don't make me laugh! It's pure propaganda to control the population through fear. Who is ever going to say they disapprove of a leader who will throw you in prison for voicing an opinion? If Putin is not an authoritarian, why is there no free press in Russia? Why is there no credible opposition to his rule? Why has he needed to change the constitution repeatedly to enable him to stay in power? Popular leaders don't need to take such measures, nor do they need to rig elections to try and create a veneer of democracy to lend legitimacy to their rule.

Putin and his cronies have robbed Russia of its wealth, behaving like gangsters. Putin is probably the richest man on the planet for all his plunder.

Are your posts genuine? Or have I completely missed the irony? I don't swallow down all the narrative given to us by our own media, and I fully accept the Western governments are not the innocents they would like us to think they are, but you seriously cannot believe a man like Putin has a just cause?