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https://theconversation.com/more-corrupt-fractured-and-ostracised-how-vladimir-putin-has-changed-russia-in-over-two-decades-on-top-206086>
"Vladimir Putin’s own version of history casts himself as modern Russia’s
bulwark and champion.
According to this narrative, Putin has sturdily held back waves of foreign and
domestic adversaries, and simultaneously restored Russia to greatness.
Although these breathless tales of Putin’s heroics may still resonate among
Russians who’ve been spoon-fed a rich diet of disinformation for years,
informed observers will view them on a spectrum ranging from embellished to the
absurd.
Future historians are unlikely to treat Putin kindly. He has ruled through a
combination of fear and favour, cynically upending Russia’s proto-democracy by
making dissent a crime rather than a crucial part of political life. Russia has
become a nation under the thrall of Putin’s singular idea, instead of a healthy
contest between competing ones.
He has progressively sickened Russian society, creating a toxic culture that
celebrates xenophobia, nativism and violence.
And by launching a foolish war of imperial expansion in Ukraine that his
much-vaunted modernised military has proved incapable of winning, he has
inadvertently revealed the fragility of his own power structure."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
