To put Kim aside for a moment, if you guys aren’t doing so already, drop in on the London Telegraph’s site now and then. It’s relevant here.
The paper itself, which I think is Tory leaning, is pretty firmly anti Putin and Russia’s doings lately, but it’s the comment section that’s interesting. The readership by and large aren’t buying the message.
The largest group say that that if there’s a dangerous country that must be stopped, it’s Bush’s America, not Putin’s Russia. Grossly unfair, but that’s another subject.
You can also hear from a fairly numerous contingent of Russians, who may be genuine private citizens or may be cyber-cheerleaders on the Kremlin payroll. Either way, writing in more or less functioning English they overwhelmingly love Putin.
The third group is to me the most interesting. These Brits compare Putin with their own pc-driven, spineless politicans, and say they prefer Putin because he is an unabashed patriot who puts his country first. This group is the smallest of the three, so far.
So while we warble on about the delights of democracy, those who have it may increasingly be wishing for something else.
Interesting times.
