Putin is undoubtedly popular at home; he is given credit for pulling Russia out of the economic tailspin that the fall of Communism kicked off. Of course, oil prices had more to do with this than anything else. The point is that what Russians perceive as the lessons of the post-USSR aftermath are not the same as what Americans perceive.
In the long run, Russia is screwed. Demographics will take care of that. 70 years of atheism tried to extinguish Russians’ conception of the purpose of life, and so they don’t conceive much anymore. Putin knows this, which is why he pays ritual homage to reviving Russian Orthodoxy. But he and the Russian people will fail so long as it is mere blood-and-soil tribal religion and not the Subject of the apostolic faith that is pursued.
The one thing that can be said about Marco Borg’s post is that Russians have been coached for centuries to hate Jews, and that training will serve them well under their future Moslem overlords.
