# Putin To Run Again **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 24, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508 "2011-09-24T23:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/1 "2011-09-24T23:14:50Z")
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/europe/medvedev-says-putin-will-seek-russian-presidency-in-2012.html?\_r=1&hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/world/europe/medvedev-says-putin-will-seek-russian-presidency-in-2012.html?_r=1&hp) I’m glad quite frankly Putin is in charge of Russia. He is not a liberal (in the classical or American sense) but he is probably one of the most competent leaders Russia has had (along with perhaps Peter the Great) and certainly the most humane. In addition the only other sizable parties are Communist or otherwise worse than Putin’s. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/2 "2011-09-25T01:08:44Z")
Well, A Just Russia is a fairly mainstream European Social Democratic Party, and there are Right Cause and Yoabloko, which are fairly centrist or classical liberal parties. But part of the reason that there’s not a bigger democratic opposition to Putin than there is is because Putin, United Russia, and the government they control have gone out of their way to suppress the opposition. So saying “I support Putin because all the other alternatives are worse” ignores the fact that Putin is the reason all the other alternatives are worse. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/3 "2011-09-25T04:23:37Z")
Except for assassinating opposition journalists, Putin’s a the bees knees. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/4 "2011-09-25T13:58:31Z")
Calling Putin humane is kinda like calling Teddy Roosevelt effeminate, isn’t it ? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/5 "2011-09-25T14:49:29Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I’m glad quite frankly Putin is in charge of Russia. He is not a liberal (in the classical or American sense) but he is probably one of the most competent leaders Russia has had (along with perhaps Peter the Great) and certainly the most humane. In addition the only other sizable parties are Communist or otherwise worse than Putin’s. Keep in mind the last person who turned Russia into a one-party state was Lenin. Putin may be somewhat restrained in how he abuses his power but he’s destroying democracy in Russia and creating a situation that future dictators will be able to abuse much more blatantly. That said, I don’t see much that America can or should do about Russia’s internal politics and there are other countries where the regimes are worse. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/6 "2011-09-25T16:42:35Z")
Huh, I clicked on this because I read it as “Palin” will run again. I have to agree with the others. Putin has effectively destroyed Russia as a power, as an economy, as a free society, and as a place with a future. Everyone with sense is fleeing the country, in such numbers that I’m beginning to wonder when he’ll start building walls to keep them in. Let’s see. Good points. Um, he knows how to take a good picture. That balances it all for some people, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/7 "2011-09-25T17:15:25Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Let’s see. Good points. Um, he knows how to take a good picture. That balances it all for some people, I guess. He also had the very good sense to be in power when the price of oil went through the ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/8 "2011-09-25T22:39:57Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Well, A Just Russia is a fairly mainstream European Social Democratic Party, and there are Right Cause and Yoabloko, which are fairly centrist or classical liberal parties. > > But part of the reason that there’s not a bigger democratic opposition to Putin than there is is because Putin, United Russia, and the government they control have gone out of their way to suppress the opposition. > > So saying “I support Putin because all the other alternatives are worse” ignores the fact that Putin is the reason all the other alternatives are worse. Sadly t > [@Kobal2](#): > > Calling Putin humane is kinda like calling Teddy Roosevelt effeminate, isn’t it ? Well compared to Ivan the Terrible, Josef Stalin, or Catherine the “Great”… > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Keep in mind the last person who turned Russia into a one-party state was Lenin. Putin may be somewhat restrained in how he abuses his power but he’s destroying democracy in Russia and creating a situation that future dictators will be able to abuse much more blatantly. > > That said, I don’t see much that America can or should do about Russia’s internal politics and there are other countries where the regimes are worse. Again sadly true. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/9 "2011-09-25T22:47:42Z")
Protip: “humane” and “humane compared to Stalin” actually mean pretty different things. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/10 "2011-09-25T22:54:31Z")
**Qin** should we be hearing whooshing sounds? Or is my sarcasm detector misfiring? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/11 "2011-09-26T00:17:00Z")
Wait, are you saying that Roosevelt was effeminate compared to Catherine the Great? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/12 "2011-09-26T00:24:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, are you saying that Roosevelt was effeminate compared to Catherine the Great? Well, he did have a thing about bull mooses. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/13 "2011-09-26T03:23:52Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > He is not a liberal (in the classical or American sense) but he is probably one of the most competent leaders Russia has had (along with perhaps Peter the Great) and certainly the **most humane**. Bolding mine. Are you familiar at all with what’s happened in Russia since 2000? What in the world makes you call Putin a “humane” leader? If your only comparison is Stalin, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/14 "2011-09-26T03:28:37Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Bolding mine. > Are you familiar at all with what’s happened in Russia since 2000? What in the world makes you call Putin a “humane” leader? If your only comparison is Stalin, perhaps. I’m pretty sure, looking back on the entire history of Russia, that the word “humane” and the words “ruler of Russia” are unlikely to spring into my mind as part of the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/15 "2011-09-26T05:18:28Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Well compared to Ivan the Terrible, Josef Stalin, or Catherine the “Great”… Are they running ? Cause I’d totally vote for Ivan. He had the most awesome beard. (and what’s wrong with Catherine ? From what I understand, her reign was a good time to be a Russian in Russia. Bit of an antisemite I suppose, but who wasn’t back then ?) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/16 "2011-09-26T13:22:51Z")
Does anyone really believe that Putin hasn’t really been in charge for the past several years? From master to puppet master to master again. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/17 "2011-09-26T18:32:56Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > and what’s wrong with Catherine ? From what I understand, her reign was a good time to be a Russian in Russia. Bit of an antisemite I suppose, but who wasn’t back then ? Catherine has a poor record in regards to the well-being of the Russian peasantry. She wanted to enact some reforms that would modernize the Russian economy. To get the nobility to go along with these reforms, she bought them off by giving them greater power of the serfs who lived on their estates and removing some traditional controls the Tsar held over the boyars. Catherine was also an expansionist, which was popular with the Russians but not so popular with the various people who lived in the countries Russia conquered. And there was Catherine’s possible role in her husband’s murder. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/18 "2011-09-26T18:59:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Catherine was also an expansionist, which was popular with the Russians but not so popular with the various people who lived in the countries Russia conquered. All right, I’ll grant that one too. Someday, I’ll write a history book. It’ll be entitled “Europe’s Buttmonkey: Poland Can’t Catch a Fucking Break” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/19 "2011-09-26T19:05:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Catherine has a poor record in regards to the well-being of the Russian peasantry. She wanted to enact some reforms that would modernize the Russian economy. To get the nobility to go along with these reforms, she bought them off by giving them greater power of the serfs who lived on their estates and removing some traditional controls the Tsar held over the boyars. > > Catherine was also an expansionist, which was popular with the Russians but not so popular with the various people who lived in the countries Russia conquered. > > And there was Catherine’s possible role in her husband’s murder. And as I understand it, male horses were subject to harassment and abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508/20 "2011-09-26T19:08:22Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Except for assassinating opposition journalists, Putin’s a the bees knees. Yeah, I don’t think many Chechens are too crazy about him, either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putin-to-run-again/597508.md?page=2)