This clip is interesting. Margaret Thatcher gave her impression of Vladimir Putin and the Russian people. Note that it’s Thatcher, who herself was not ever described as warm, cuddly or sympathetic to ordinary people:
Her worldview makes the west allies that work together in a crisis, contrasted with Russians who seem to be able to distance themselves from human suffering.
It’s interesting how Clinton also had Putin’s number. But George Bush was conned by him and Obama was just hoping Putin would go away of his own accord and spare him from making any decisions. Trump was enthralled. Biden is back to being clear eyed and unafraid of Putin.
What do Clinton and Biden have in common that Bush, Obama and Trump lacked? How is it that Margaret Thatcher, of all people, also figured him out?
That’s a real question that I don’t know the answer to.
Filed under: General |
The Confluence 
Well, to quote Putin’s idol, ” “If only one man dies of hunger, that is a tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.”
Of course, that pretty well sums up our COVID response, so I’m not sure we should be patting ourselves on the back.
It is both tragic and ironic that Stalin’s statement was also made in the context of Ukraine.
I don’t think Thatcher’s comment about the “Soviet Union” was a matter of “seeing [Putin’s] ambitions and dreams clearly”. I think it’s simple confusion. Her daughter publicly announced that Thatcher was suffering from dementia in 2005 (https://web.archive.org/web/20121112112840/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html)
What I (dimly) recall of the Kursk incident was that Putin went on vacation while the tragedy was unfolding and only returned to work after massive public outcry in Russia.