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Letter: In defense of Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not deserve the barrage of accusations leveled against him. Domestically he revived the Russian economy. In 2006, Russia became one of 17 creditor nations. He also restored pride in the nation’s technical and cultural achievements. Think of rocket technology and the Sochi Olympics.

On international issues, he has been accused of a litany of misdeeds. Early on, during the Chechen war, he was accused of mistreatment of the terrorists who had taken hostages in movie theaters, schools and hospitals. Next came accusations of the “invasion” of Georgia. In reality, it was an attempted land grab by the new Georgian government. It failed, and after five days of fighting, the old border was restored.

The current crisis attributed to him is the “invasion” of Crimea and the insurrection of separatists in the east. In reality, the destruction of Ukrainian polity was triggered by the violent overthrow of a legitimately elected government. One of the consequences was the “declaration of independence” by the autonomous parliament of Crimea. The terms of the 1996 lease allowed for stationing 25,000 troops, including armored vehicles. What was the need for an invasion? There is much material available to support this view of Putin but not enough space in a letter to a newspaper.



Stefan Edlis

Aspen