It's ironic that at a time when the internet ought to be the source of accurate information about events around the world, it's being used more and more to propagate dangerous propaganda by one side/group/faction or another. Who knows what's true anymore? It seems clear to me that many ordinary Russians believe what Putin tells them and that has to be a very dangerous situation. God only knows what he might do if he starts to believe his own publicity, emboldened by popular support.
---------- Post added at 11:15 ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 ----------
Found this interesting:
Quote:
Russians were looking to their leader for reassurance, worried by the near-daily slide of the rouble and warnings of recession under the twin pressures of Western sanctions and a falling oil price.
What they got was another patriotic rallying cry, and more bellicose talk directed at the West.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30340722
Quote:
He described sanctions as simply the latest in a long line of a Western attempts to "contain" Russia and prevent it flourishing: if the crisis in Ukraine hadn't happened, Russia's ill-wishers would have found another way to hold her back, his argument went.
"President Putin never admits mistakes, so this speech had a sense of [being] right, of confidence and full command of the situation," says political analyst Masha Lipman.
She argues that what it lacked was any sense of empathy for "ordinary" Russians, who are facing 9% inflation and wondering whether it is time to empty their rouble bank accounts and buy dollars.
Still, Mr Putin does remain extraordinarily popular.
After the takeover of Crimea his rating soared over 80%, and even amid the latest economic downturn, it remains at a level most Western politicians could only dream of.
That is partly because state-controlled media have spent months glossing over the gloom.
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