Putin Pushes Russia In A Dangerous, Undemocratic and Strongarm Path

When Boris Yeltsin chose former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin, as his handpicked successor, he no doubt expected that Putin would be young enough, strong enough and devoted to a sustained path of Russian democracy. Instead in the name of stemming "terrorism" and other evils, Putin has become a strongman moving Russia far from democracy.

In 1991 when the Communists attempted their coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, Putin resigned from the KGB, and appeared to be a young democracy advocate. He soon became a young and trusted member of the second administration of Boris Yeltsin. With increasing health problems, Yeltsin eventually picked Putin as his successor.

But Putin has gradually drifted from democratic ideals, where the election for many offices has been eliminated. News is now under the control of Putin, where only positive news about Putin and the government are aired on Russian TV. Putin has sold China new warships with nuclear tipped "Sunburn" antiship cruise missiles designed to destroy American aircraft carriers. Russia has even developed a new form of hypersonic cruise missle designed to be able to defeat any American anti missile defense due to it's ultra high speed. Putin claimed the new missile was designed to fight "terrorists", but this new cruise missile hardly has any practical use of this sort. In many ways Putin has become a softcore retroStalin strongman.

And in a most serious new action of Putin, Russia has cut natural gas supplies to the Ukraine by 25%. This was after attempting to increase the price of natural gas by more than 400% to bring down the proWestern government of Viktor Yushchenko in the Ukraine, and to use natural gas as a political weapon to hurt this proWestern former Soviet Union state. This will impact natural gas imports to Germany, France, Italy and Hungary just at the time that Russia takes on the annual leadership role of the G8. Ukraine leader, Viktor Yushchenko was a victim of dioxin poisoning, a KGB type of politically moltivated attempted murder.

Cutting a vital natural resource to a nation has had disasterous effects in the past. The 6 Day War between Israel and several Mideast states was partially caused when Arab states began the construction of the Headwater Diversion Plan to cut down water supplies to Israel and Israel reacted to fight for it's survival. From 1965 to 1967 tensions built into full war between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq was over an oil dispute of Kuwait illegally "slant-driling" oil supplies from a deep oil well that was largely under Iraqi territory according to Iraqi contentions.

The Western world wants very much to see Russia as a cooperative partner. The invitation into Western organizations such as the G8 were intended to encourage Russian democracy. But compared to the days of political freedom and democratic elections under Yeltsin, Putin has taken many steps backward. In the name of combating the Islamic Chechen terrorists, Putin will justify cutting into civil liberties, free elections and a free press. In the U.S., Mr. Bush will face a rocky 2006, as questions about the balance between fighting terrorism and civil liberties and the NSA spying will become major political debates this year.

With natural gas cutbacks mainly aimed at hurting Western states such as France,Germany and Italy. And efforts to bring down the government in the Ukraine and to extend Russian influence in former Soviet states such as this, Putin is straining his relations with the West to a near breaking point. He is drifting far from the expected democratic path and modern industrial partner the Western world had expected to develop in Russia. The Cold War of the old Soviet Union days has become a Cold Peace under Putin. Putin must decide which direction for his nation to take. But for now, it is hardly a positive one.

With the Shanghai Military Alliance with China and a handful of former Soviet Union states, and a friendship with Iran, Putin may be constructing the dangerous military alliance warned of in Ezekiel 37-39 in the Old Testament. Eventually Iran will lead the world into the most serious war ever according to clear warning of this important Jewish prophet who detailed the entire history of Israel in his important book of the Old Testament. It's up to Putin to do right by his nation and the world to make Russia a responsible nation that competes with industry and products, and commited to peace, and not a dangerous return to brutal militarism that could threaten future world peace.