Someone once said that the Russians language was one of the best languages for poetry, that one could express feelings in a fashion that was not possible in another language. Whether that is true or not, I cannot say. I can say, however, that Russian language is full of very unique and interesting expressions and sayings. Take for example how Boris Yeltsin's face was commonly described by his critics. He was said to have a "a mug that invites a brick" ("rozha kotorye prigloshayet kirpitcha"). Perhaps not the most complimentary description of Yeltsin's appearance, but nevertheless a very colorful though crude expression! There is another very old popular saying, "zhyrym besyatza" which literally translates to "rabid with fat."
"Rabid with fat" refers to a person or people who are spoiled, have everything and are bored so they seek to satisfy their boredom with useless activities with self gratifying goals. Some historians believe that is what happened to Rome, that the rich and powerful were so hedonistic, engrossed with satisfying their own pleasures that they completely lost track of what was happening to their country. Putin, as well as some of the other members of his ruling class (the new nomenkultura), definitely believe that America has fallen into the category of ancient Rome before its fall. Putin, in some of his speeches has said that America was on the decline, that its people were "rabid with fat." He pointed at the various changes that had taken place in the last few decades and derisively said that it was a sure sign of our impending collapse as a nation.
Being basically the old hard-line Soviet that he is, he considers any softening or changing of old rules as a weakness, a sign of decay! He points at our acceptance of same sex marriage, the legalization of marijuana in some parts of the country, and our seeming inability to control Muslim population. He made quite a joke about the flap that we had not long ago about bathroom usage by transgender kids in schools. He constantly points out some of the more controversial occurrences that take place in America. His remarks concerning the latest "Clowns' Lives Matter" (yes, if you haven't heard, there is a movement afoot for "Clowns' Lives Matter," its not a joke!) illustrates his view and opinion of our country. He said that he was surprised it took so long for the clowns to get into the act!
Putin is an extremely dangerous man. I don't believe there has been a world leader as dangerous as Putin since Yuri Andropov (1982-84), and not surprisingly, both are diehard former KGB! It is not very well known that before he became the Soviet Premier, Andropov, as the head of KGB, came up with a plan to involve PRC in a war with the United States. A complicated plot was hatched to launch a missile attack on South Korea and Japan by North Korea and PRC. At least the attack would appear to have been launched by China and North Korea. The idea was to engage us in a war with China and Soviet Union would step-in to take over when we were weakened and unsuspecting! Obviously, nothing like that happened, and today it sounds more like a Hollywood movie script or a spy novel. But if the truth be known, intelligence information surfaced that Andropov and the KGB indeed had such a plan which they planned to execute without the knowledge of Kremlin and the Politburo! Well, I don't mean to be an alarmist, but Putin is just such a man, having been trained and groomed by the KGB during that era!
The current alarming situation in Aleppo, Syria is a good example of what Putin is doing. He is completely ignoring previous talks and promises of mutual cooperation and continues to bomb indiscriminately and refuses to allow UN or any other NGO to enter the area to help the desperate people. European sensationalist press is abuzz with rumors that World War Three is about to start! Putin supposedly recalled all his high ranking officials and their families stationed abroad, calling for them to return to the "motherland." Alarmists insist that it is a precursor to the start of World War Three, that Putin is getting ready to attack. I don't think so. Putin will get what he wants without resorting to such drastic actions.
Despite Europe's opposition to Putin's antics and the seeming cooling relations at present, Europe needs Russia! Europe gets its natural gas from Russia as well as some of its oil supply! If Russia cut off its supply of natural gas to Europe, it would cause considerable problems. So, despite the cooling relations and periodic quarrels, most of Western Europe (as well as all of Eastern Europe) will not risk going to a catastrophic war against Russia. Putin knows this, and European leaders know this as well. That is why Putin recently ordered nuclear warhead missiles to move as close to the Western border as it has ever been. He knew there would be no physical response as such, just verbal protestations! NATO, on the other hand, does not have any nuclear weapons anywhere near the Russian border! So, who is the winner in this game of show of strength?
Right now, while most of Americans are preoccupied with the forthcoming presidential elections, Putin is making his moves to strengthen his position in Europe and Middle East. He would like nothing more than to create chaos during the elections which he believes will bring about an unstable government, regardless of who gets elected! Using others to say things that he wants said to disrupt and destabilize our elections, his spokesmen, both official and unofficial, claim to want Trump to be elected rather than Clinton. They claim that Clinton would bring about World War Three. I don't believe that Putin really thinks that will happen. All of the talk is simply to destabilize the elections, cause confusion.
Make no mistake about it, Putin's ultimate goal, his dream in life is to bring about the downfall of the United States of America. He hates the U.S. and has made no bones about it. He is an old school, ruthless former Soviet who blames all of Russia's woes on the United States. Although Russia has its Parliament, the Duma, Putin makes all the decisions and will override anything the Duma does that does not please him. It has taken him a while to modernize the Russian military to the point where he feels that Russian forces are no longer behind times, inferior to NATO. The main thing, however, is that he knows that Western Europe, like the United States, has a current population that is "rabid with fat." Rightly or not, he does not fear us. He fears our weapons, but not our leadership or resolve to carry the fight! Putin is the most dangerous man of the 21st Century, so far!
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