I think with 8% undecided, the potential for political parties within to emphasis Russian autonomy is important. The Russian people are regressing. They don't believe they are a great country as they are today. That's the communists talking. The communists are pushing a regressive agenda.
That is an opportunity for a different political party to lead the people into a new day in Russia. Is there a reason why they should be ashamed of their country without all the trappings of a huge landmass? The tasks of protecting the Russia people have not been accomplished by the current government majority. 50,000 people died in fires not long ago. There are many issues facing the Russia people and they aren't engaging them.
May 8, 2014
...In the past, (click here) Vladimir Putin has described the collapse of the Soviet Union as a “catastrophe,” and many Russians seem to concur. A 55%-majority agree with the statement: “It is a great misfortune that the Soviet Union no longer exists.” Views on this question have been relatively steady since Pew Research first asked it five years ago. In 2009, 58% described the collapse of the USSR as a great misfortune, and 50% expressed this opinion in 2011.
Nostalgia for the Soviet era is particularly common among older Russians. About seven-in-ten Russians age 50 and older (71%) characterize the end of the Soviet Union as a great misfortune, compared with 46% of people ages 30 to 49 and 40% of those under 30....
Russia needs a different political dialogue. How can other parties begin to map out a better path for Russia if all there is is a singular dialogue regretting the fall of the Soviet Union?
May 6, 2014
As Russia’s central bank (click here) struggles to shield the ruble from the standoff over Ukraine, Vasily Isaev says it may already be too little, too late to save his Italian vacation plans.
“If you get your salary in rubles, a trip to the beach in Europe is going to be difficult this year,” said the 37-year-old sales manager, looking up from his English homework in the park near Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. “We’re going to Bulgaria instead of Italy this year and we’re renting an apartment a little further away from the sea.”
Consumers like Isaev, spending more than a few months ago to fill a shopping cart with everyday items, may be squeezed most by the currency’s decline as inflation quickens. Wobbling consumption threatens to knock out another pillar of the economy reeling from sanctions that stoked capital flight....
The current path Russia is on isn't in the best interest of the country. President Putin is finally 'getting it.' He realizes the economic community is not interested in instability and uncertainty. He did make this statement about the Ukraine rebels and their elections. He states he has pulled back the Russian troops from the Ukraine border. That is 40 thousand troops. The West hasn't verified it yet, but, the financial community is giving Russia a new look.
May 7, 2014
Oren Dorell
Russian President Vladimir Putin (click here) on Wednesday called on militant Ukrainians to cancel a referendum to join Russia that many feared would ignite further killings in volatile east Ukraine.
The planned referendum appeared similar to one held in Crimea that Putin used as a pretext to invade and make part of Russia - creating what Europe said was its greatest crisis in decades.
"We believe that the most important thing is to create direct, full-fledged dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeast Ukraine," Putin said....
That is the new path for Russia. It is one of the BRIC countries. The communists are not a good influence within Russia if the country is to move forward with all the other emerging economies. That is the new dialogue. The new image of Russia is to be a partner in global relationships without playing brinkmanship with nukes. Nukes are old world. The financial turbulence of the global markets with the Russian annexation of Crimea is proof of that. No investor wants to wake up and find out his money doesn't belong to him anymore because there was an overthrow of government.
Infrastructure of any kind is extremely expensive. War? You've got to be joking.
The West is moving forward with a better quality of life for it's citizens since the 2008 global economic collapse. War? That isn't the path for Russia and it will be left hopelessly behind if that type of image of Russia continues and is enforced with similar events as occurred in Ukraine. The future isn't about destruction, it is about healing and healthy economies. China doesn't want war either. It is busy establishing it's Middle Class. War is not on the agenda, that is why all this 'island' stuff is so silly. All those old issues need to be resolved without military conflict.
In a joint statement, (click here) Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande, both 59-year-olds but of quite different backgrounds and political beliefs, warned Russia that it would face tough sanctions if it did not help defuse the crisis in Ukraine, including taking “visible steps” to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s border. Last week, President Vladimir V. Putin said he had already done so, but NATO and Western leaders said they had seen no evidence of a withdrawal....
I think President Obama and members of the EU are going to join President Putin on D-Day. We were allies then.
