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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to wonder why people in russia love Putin so much despite him creaming the country to become the richest person in the world

44 replies

entiledornot · 08/02/2015 20:52

So Vlad has one of the highest ratings of leaders. Yet he has taken billions in dodgy deals when selling off state assets that many believe makes him the richest person in the world. He's also the most powerful in the world.

Yet many of his people are staving. But they still love him?

Are they stupid?

OP posts:

Original poster

entiledornot · 08/02/2015 20:53

Grr starving

OP posts:

MonstrousRatbag · 09/02/2015 11:00

Not stupid, I don't think. After the sheer horror of the chaotic Yeltsin years, they knowingly made a deal with the devil: you give us political stability and a functioning economy, and we'll ignore the fact that you are a thief with dictatorial tendencies.

Putin's problem now is that he is not keeping up his end of the deal-the Russian economy has not developed and diversified, and low oil prices are causing huge problems (hence I think, the Ukraine diversion).

JeanneDeMontbaston · 09/02/2015 11:03

Yes, because no one ever falsifies any kind of results in Russia, ohno. It is entirely uncorrupt.

I'm sorry, but I think it's you who risk coming across as unintelligent here!

Dawndonnaagain · 09/02/2015 11:04

They don't, but if they disagree publicly, they end up in being imprisoned, as happened to Pussy Riot.

DoraGora · 09/02/2015 11:05

Russia has always loved the strong man. Let's face it, the things Stalin did defy belief. But, he's still a Russian hero. According to our Russian friends it's the west which has Putin all wrong.

(The last argument I was involved in was about the fact that Russian soldiers in the Ukraine don't wear Russian uniforms. Therefore they're not Russian, according to some and they're not there at all, according to others. The west is simply mistaken about the whole thing.)

PintofCiderPlease · 09/02/2015 11:10

Actually, I think a lot of them DO love him, and it's scary trying to comprehend why.

My parents, of Russian origin never having lived there or even anywhere in Europe, but solely Russian speaking, (family escaped after the revolution) are so completely enamoured with Putin that when I dared criticise his handling of Ukraine to them I had to put up with days of ranting at the wicked Western lies their own daughter believed, and how on earth had such a thing happened..... Twas truly bizarre.

TheOddity · 09/02/2015 11:10

I don't know but I do know a little Ukrainian family here in Italy just basically waiting to be able to go home while all their family tell them to stay put. So sad, with their beautiful son missing out on his grandparents, aunts and uncles just because of this guy.

BarbarianMum · 09/02/2015 11:12

Results are falsified. Protests are quenched. People are afraid. Nevertheless Putin does enjoy a lot of popular support. My personal theory is that many Russians feel humiliated by their country's perceieved fall from power and influence and have been hurt by the effects of liberalisation/westernisation of their economy. So Putin being a 'strong' leader who the world needs to listen to and promising strong economic growth are very attractive to them. Plus he's pretty good about fostering suspicion and paranoia about the world being out to get Russia and therefore the need for a strong and unified belligerent response to external pressures.

TheOddity · 09/02/2015 11:14

Propaganda goes deep. A lot of italians still rate Mussolini as one of their greatest leaders, and look at their support for Berlusconi. When the economy is falling around you and corruption is rife, I think sometimes it feels safer to have one of the Mafia openly running the country rather than having a naive leader constantly up against the actual power in the country who are all criminals.

MoanCollins · 09/02/2015 11:19

The thing is, I am VERY aware that because Russia won't always give in to the West's demands re energy and that the West often uses bully boy tactics I'm not convinced that what we hear about Russia isn't spun for propaganda. After all, ISIS happened because we were happy to see an ally of Russia attacked in Syria and fomented the situation.

In fact I think it's a paranoia too far but it did occur to me MI5 might have started this thread...

OfaFrenchMind · 09/02/2015 11:21

BarbarianMum agreed.
We see it from a Western point of view, but Russians have to deal with going from one of the major player and power in the world to a struggling economy and dodgy international influence. Putin is a "strong" man, and is working at making Russia relevant again on the International scene.

emilywrites · 09/02/2015 16:10

It is a completely different mentality, born of years of Big Brother-type spying amid physically cramped flats and offices in which it was/is difficult to ever be totally alone (or at least away from even the sounds of people on all sides). When you take away a people's privacy, freedom, and access to beauty in atmosphere, those people start to prioritize differently. You can't change the situation, but if your family and friends are/become your top priority, the rest doesn't matter so much. Russians have a totally different attitude toward corruption outside of their friend/family groups because Western-style pursuit/expectation of freedom is dangerous.

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Inkanta · 09/02/2015 16:22

I think the culture is different, and where we slag off our leaders the Russians are respectful of theirs. Don't think fear is their main motive, - I think they actually do love Putin and don't tolerate a bad word against him.

Nervo · 09/02/2015 16:29

I was speaking to a Russian lady at the weekend. She said that it was public opinion in Russia which was forcing Putin's hand. She also said that she has friends in the Russian Navy and they are gearing up for war in the Spring.

JeanneDeMontbaston · 09/02/2015 16:31

Inkanta, my ex is Russian and you should hear him on the subject! Definitely no love there.

emilywrites · 09/02/2015 16:33

I think Western politicians are absolutely misreading Mr. Putin, and it scares me to death.

They don't love him. They don't hate him, either.

Inkanta · 09/02/2015 16:36

Jean - oh right. Why was there no love - do the Russians see through Putin?

JeanneDeMontbaston · 09/02/2015 16:42

It's a huge country, I bet loads of people have different views. I just meant, clearly, not all Russians think he's wonderful.

BreakingDad77 · 09/02/2015 16:49

I would have thought they don't know what he has been up to so why question it. A Russian wife of a colleague told me there are continued revisions of history as to who was bad/good.

I think the west are over egging encroachment into Europe and that Russia is just reclaiming the USSR. Question is do we want to get involved?

I thought Syria the problem is who are the 'good guys' and there was the worry of a christian genocide post secular Assad and no western leader is going to want that on their hands?

emilywrites · 09/02/2015 16:50

BreakingDad, what do you mean that "Russia is just reclaiming the USSR"?

BreakingDad77 · 09/02/2015 16:52

The former states it held in the past which broke off to become their own countries.

FreudiansSlipper · 09/02/2015 16:56

many people in Russia will remember what life was like under a strict communist regime can you blame them for now wanting to return to that and living in fear of returning to life like that

of course people are not stupid but they are feed propaganda (as we all are), Putin changed the political set up to suit himself and there is also an element of real fear

emilywrites · 09/02/2015 17:01

I don't think it is OK for Russia to just seize former U.S.S.R. states against their will. You realize that some of those states are part of the EU now, right? There is a lot more at stake than just turning a blind eye to Russia reclaiming its own. Those former U.S.S.R. states are now sovereign countries.

Would it be OK for the UK to decide to reclaim some of its former states? I don't.

BreakingDad77 · 09/02/2015 17:08

Isn't that the problem e.g Ukraine they are not part of the EU?

The same could be argued for our meddling in the middle east (derail sorry)

The worry is we don't seem to have proof/global agreement that Russia are behind Ukrainian 'rebels' and if the west escalates now then Russia will claim its responding to that threat, bing another cold war or worse.

emilywrites · 09/02/2015 17:21

I have spent a lot of time in Kyiv for my job, and I SAW/heard Russian soldiers, with identifying insignia, on the streets of Kyiv last year just as the riots began. They could be seen daily, and I am so confused about why Western media avoided to mention/photograph the direct proof. I saw a lot of other things in Kyiv that have convinced me that Western media is just as corrupt as what we believe Russian media to be. I have photographs from Crimea at that time as well. I guarantee that the "Ukrainian" rebels are Russian.

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