Putin: Success or Failure?

If you read the Western Media, you know that Putin is an absolute failure, holding power as a ruthless dictator by suppressing dissent and sending dissidents to the Gulag where they are martyred like St. Navalny.

His only successes in Ukraine have been through human wave attacks by thousands of blood-crazed North Korean soldiers. He holes himself up in secret private palaces surrounded by sycophantic oligarchs and zombified goons.

The economy is collapsing. Zelensky is winning. And a “humiliated” Putin is not long for this world.

Seeing him floundering around in his “chat” with the nation recently, you can judge he is under real pressure, and with the knowledge that the tyrant Assad has just crashed from his perch and is cowering under Putin’s coat tails, must be a very disarming experience.

Putin knows failed Russian dictators rarely collect their “pensions” and seems to be charting a way out. His final gambit to save Kursk is putting him into “check” if not “checkmate”?

This is positive, but it is essential that the West and Nato European countries keep up the pressure and don’t give him anyway out. Things are looking brighter for Ukraine if we hold our nerve. (Col.) Hamish de Bretton-Gordon

This was published in the Telegraph, which Alexander Mercouris often refers to. Andrei Martyanov commented - as only Andrei can! Read it.

Damn those North Koreans.

Sorry to say, it is hard to explain away Ukraine losses.

Also hard to explain away Putin’s achievements — even with jiggered statistics from the Ukraine and FT and journalistic buggery in the UK.

A friend has sent me this list of Putin’s accomplishments (a partial list he says). Which I will research for my Special Article,

· Increasing military capability and reform of the armed forces

· Strengthening of Russia’s international position. International Diplomacy / BRICS

· Resolution of the Chechen problem

· Improvement of citizens’ quality of living, increased wages and pensions

· Promotion of meritocracy in business and government

· Creation of new infrastructure

· Access to health, education and welfare

· Economic development of the country

· Cooperation with other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States / Central Asian) nations

· Elimination of terrorism

· War on corruption, bribery

· Control over regional and bureaucratic malfeasance

· Creation of economic and political conditions conducive to the growth of the private sector : new jobs, better wages

· Technology and business autonomy without relying on the West

· Restraining “oligarchs,” limitations on their influence

· War on crime

. Support for families and veterans

· Improvement of Russia’s relations Asian countries and the Global South

· Improvement of inter-ethnic relations in Russia

· Regional Development particularly in the East and the Arctic

· Improvement of public morality and values

· Protection of democracy and citizens’ political freedoms

· Resistance to Western military aggression in Ukraine

· Resistance to Western economic aggression

· Increased optimism, hope for improvement in the near future

· Improvement of the rule of law

· Incorporation of new Russian Territories (ex-Ukraine)

Can you add to this list?

This too is part of the upcoming Special Article (3 now!).

Typos and stuff

Many people have commented on my typos, for which I apologize.

I do research and rewriting for my daily posts by day and I end up proof reading late at night, often around 2 AM—which is not the best time , of course—and generates lots of mistakes.

Of course, I have other excuses!

The nerve damage to my right hand affects manual typing— but I try anyway - in addition to using auto-dictate software -- which has its own ideas of what to say. So much for AI!

Then there’s my dyslexia.

With the longer special articles it gets worse - because they are…well…longer! And I rewrite / edit constantly, adding new materials and dumping whole sections. Writing for me is controlled chaos, in which I often get quite lost.

Previously, when I wrote commercially, I always used a proofreader / editor. Now, I can't afford that. And Chappy and Ichi aren’t interested.

I will try to do better. I promise!

That said, I was truly touched by the offers of help! You guys are the best! And I may take you up on it.

You can buy coffees for me, and Chappy and Ichi HERE!