| − | Putin has before called the [[Bolshevik]]s traitors for Russia's defeat in the First World War.<ref>https://www.rt.com/politics/putin-accuses-bolsheviks-treason-877/</ref> Putin also has compared communism with Christianity.<ref>Newman, Alex (January 16, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/28051-communism-very-similar-to-christianity-putin-claims Communism “Very Similar” to Christianity, Putin Claims]. ''The New American''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> Putin was accused of embracing the tactics of Soviet dictator [[Joseph Stalin]].<ref>https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-russia-stalin-model-20150611-story.html</ref> In addition, he implies in an interview with [[Larry King]] dated September 8, 2000 that his Christianity isn't actually sincere by stating in Russian that he "believes in the power of man" or "I believe in human beings." Though a few years later, his faith became more genuine.<ref>https://www.quora.com/Is-Vladimir-Putin-personally-religious</ref> Furthermore, around October 2017, he hosted the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students Communist event and gave a speech that strongly implied that he adhered to Communism. Similarly, he also had provided arms and materiel to various communist groups, including [[Angola]], and has voiced a desire to reconnect with Latin America shortly before the FSLN regained power in Nicaragua and has supported [[Nicaragua]] via foreign aid, shipping tanks, and even posting a GLONASS tracking station on the Caribbean coast, alongside similar arming of North Korea.<ref>https://westernfreepress.com/is-vladimir-putin-a-communist/</ref><ref>https://www.trevorloudon.com/2017/12/is-vladimir-putin-a-communist/</ref> Putin is a close ally of the [[Venezuela]]'s Marxist Dictator [[Nicolás Maduro]] which he defends internationally.<ref>https://www.dw.com/es/la-alianza-estrat%C3%A9gica-de-maduro-y-putin/a-46618225</ref><ref>https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2019/06/06/vladimir-putin-volvio-a-respaldar-a-maduro-y-dijo-que-sus-asesores-militares-cumpliran-las-obligaciones-de-rusia-en-venezuela/</ref> He also indicated that he still keeps his KGB card while citing his contemporaries within the KGB had discarded theirs after the USSR's fall.<ref>https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/putin-his-communist-party-membership-card-i-still-keep-it-home</ref> | + | Putin has before called the [[Bolshevik]]s traitors for Russia's defeat in the First World War.<ref>https://www.rt.com/politics/putin-accuses-bolsheviks-treason-877/</ref> Putin also has compared communism with Christianity.<ref>Newman, Alex (January 16, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/28051-communism-very-similar-to-christianity-putin-claims Communism “Very Similar” to Christianity, Putin Claims]. ''The New American''. Retrieved January 17, 2018.</ref> Putin has been accused by Western media of embracing the tactics of Soviet dictator [[Joseph Stalin]].<ref>https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-russia-stalin-model-20150611-story.html</ref> In addition, he implies in an interview with [[Larry King]] dated September 8, 2000 that his Christianity isn't actually sincere by stating in Russian that he "believes in the power of man" or "I believe in human beings." Though a few years later, his faith became more genuine.<ref>https://www.quora.com/Is-Vladimir-Putin-personally-religious</ref> Furthermore, around October 2017, he hosted the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students Communist event and gave a speech that strongly implied that he adhered to Communism. Similarly, he also had provided arms and materiel to various communist groups, including [[Angola]], and has voiced a desire to reconnect with Latin America shortly before the FSLN regained power in Nicaragua and has supported [[Nicaragua]] via foreign aid, shipping tanks, and even posting a GLONASS tracking station on the Caribbean coast, alongside similar arming of North Korea.<ref>https://westernfreepress.com/is-vladimir-putin-a-communist/</ref><ref>https://www.trevorloudon.com/2017/12/is-vladimir-putin-a-communist/</ref> Putin is a close ally of the [[Venezuela]]'s Marxist Dictator [[Nicolás Maduro]] which he defends internationally.<ref>https://www.dw.com/es/la-alianza-estrat%C3%A9gica-de-maduro-y-putin/a-46618225</ref><ref>https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2019/06/06/vladimir-putin-volvio-a-respaldar-a-maduro-y-dijo-que-sus-asesores-militares-cumpliran-las-obligaciones-de-rusia-en-venezuela/</ref> He also indicated that he still keeps his KGB card while citing his contemporaries within the KGB had discarded theirs after the USSR's fall.<ref>https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/putin-his-communist-party-membership-card-i-still-keep-it-home</ref> |