Changes

[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]

[[File:Putin07.jpg|thumb|300px|Canadian news magazine tells it like it is--Sept. 03, 2007]]

Putin is seen as an antagonist to the West; his presidency has become increasingly authoritarian and opponents are murdered. It is certain that his military alliance with China, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, weapons sales to Iran Venezuela and the invasion of Georgia, are a real threat to a new Cold War. Putin has complete control of Russia's future, as a [[dictator]] would. For example, on April 14, 2007, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in [[Moscow]], <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref> Despite these political trends, Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. <ref>''Time Magazine'', February 26, 2007</ref> The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity. <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref>  and journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]] argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet". <ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref> Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>

Putin is seen as an antagonist to the West; his presidency has become increasingly authoritarian and opponents are murdered. It is certain that his military alliance with China, his rigged election system, nationalized oil, weapons sales to Iran Venezuela and the invasion of Georgia, are a real threat to a new Cold War. Putin has complete control of Russia's future, as a [[dictator]] would. For example, on April 14, 2007, Russian riot police beat a number of protesters and journalists at an anti-Putin rally at Pushkin Square in [[Moscow]], <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref> and Putin rigged national elections for his party <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL03585550._CH_.2400</ref> Despite these political trends, Putin remains popular in Russia<ref>http://www.levada.ru/prezident.html Putin's Approval Ratings</ref>. Since coming to power, Putin has expanded Russia's economy and reduced inflation. <ref>''Time Magazine'', February 26, 2007</ref> The majority of Russians are relatively uninterested in politics outside of issues affecting their personal prosperity. <ref>''The Economist'', April 21, 2007</ref>  and journalist [[Anna Politkovskaya]] argued that the Russian people, as a whole, have been willing to tolerate violence in the name of "comfort and peace and quiet". <ref>Politkovskaya, Anna. Putin's Russia. London: Harvill Press, 2004</ref> Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of Putin, was assassinated in 2006 <ref>http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1819666.ece</ref>, and it is widely believed that the Russian government had some involvement in this death. There were 13 journalists killed in contract-style slayings during Vladimir Putin's eight-year presidency. <ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,438381,00.html Russian Lawyer in Slain Journalist Case Says She, Family Poisoned] AP, October 15, 2008</ref>

==Relations with U.S.==

==Relations with U.S.==

 

President Obama's decision in August 2009 to cancel an antimissile defense system in Eastern Europe earned a strong welcome from Putin. Now, the question is whether Russia will do more to help prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Putin, who had repeatedly assailed the antimissile system as a grave danger to Russia's security, called Obama's decision ''correct and brave.'' President Dmitri A. Medvedev hinted that Russia would respond favorably to the decision to replace former President George W. Bush's plan with a missile shield seen as less threatening to Moscow.

In February 2009 while the United States Congress debated [[President Barack Obama]]'s [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|economic stimulus package]], Putin suggested the [[United States]] learn from Russian history and not exercise "excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence". Speaking to Putin the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Putin said,

{{Cquote|In the 20th century, the [[Soviet Union]] made the state’s role absolute... In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated....Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.<ref>[http://www.therightperspective.org/2009/02/11/putin-warns-us-about-socialsm/ Putin Warns US About Socialism], The Right Perspective.</ref>}}

 

President Barack Obama, who did not know Putin's position in the Russian government,<ref>[http://digg.com/politics/Obama_Doesn_t_Know_Who_Russia_s_President_Is Obama Doesn't Know Who Russia's President Is], [[Reuters]], July 6 1009.</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/weekinreview/02barry.html?_r=1 America Hears a Gaffe, Russia Sees a Plot], Ellen Berry, ''[[New York Times]'', August 1, 2009.</ref> told the ''[[Associated Press]]'' Putin needs to understand "that the old [[Cold War]] approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated, that it's time to move forward in a different direction."  Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, "Such a point of view has nothing to do with a true understanding of Putin....By all appearances he does not have full information about [Putin's] views."<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/07/03/obama-putin-interview145.html Obama wrong about Putin], CBC News, July 3, 2009.</ref>

== See also ==

== See also ==