I'm bemused - Vladimir Putin as a Christian Warrior - Do Russians see him as a fighter for Jesus?

by fulltimestudent 29 Replies latest social current

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  fulltimestudent

  I accidentally came across this Youtube video, "Why the west fears Putin." Curious, I watched it. You may find it interesting also.

  We should recognise, of course, that Youtube is a battleground for competing concepts, but maybe that's part of its success.

  The supporting text says:

  Vladimir Putin is a hero of Christendom but in America, Putin is always portrayed as a communist dictator with many protesters against him. Yet, he is not a member of the communist party and the KGB no longer exists. They never show the millions of Russians who love him for saving Russia and his true beliefs. Why is the truth not reported? There is a reason. The western media thinks they can hide the truth. However,
  "One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world." -- old Russian proverb

  
  
  The person who posted this video also adds a long list of supporting videos, all ( I think ) presenting Putin to us as a mighty Christian warrior. I've listed a few.

  Vladimir Putin's Christian Faith - in his own words
  

  http://youtu.be/u3d_yxJhmjk
  
  Russian Faith
  http://russianfaith.wordpress.com/
  
  Putin- Defender of the Faith
  http://youtu.be/22HkzDOc18k
  
  Putin and the Church
  http://youtu.be/dRgWVAfHNZM

  So here you are - meet St Vlad.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNFmBJSAxUQ
  
  
• 

  fulltimestudent

  And, just maybe you should watch this one: The difference between Obama and Putin, which takes the current contretemps to a whole different place:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjqJ3cDzReA
  
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  edmond dantes

  Very interesting .I have thought for a long time now that Mr Putin stands head and shoulders above the rest of the World leaders I also think that the Russians have the moral high ground .Of course saying that will cause controversy obviously but I have listened to some of his speeches and a lot of his statements ring true and given the history of Russian struggle against the invader plus the massive border security they have to worry about who can blame them for wanting security .

  I have read and heard a lot of hysterical comments about Mr Putin in the British and US media and to my way of thinking it's the West that is the bully .Frequently we are not being told the truth there is too much disinformation and hypocrisy coming out of Britain and the US. Considering the number of countries that we in the West have decided to invade in order to effect regime change its jaw dropping to hear the criticism of Russia for protecting its own people.

  Nothing is perfect in this World but we should not demonise and lie to destabilise Russia for an ulterior motive Gorbachev has said that it will take 10 to 15 years for Russia to gain full democracy .They should be assisted and encouraged.
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  Miles

  I totally like Putin and think he's the man. He is totally misunderstood by most people, most world leaders are intimidated by him, and jealous. It has been a big mistake to alienate him, we need Russia (and their army) to help us fight those Muslim nut bars.
  
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  SonoftheTrinity

  I know about this monk. He's a self hating Jewish convert to Russian Orthdoxy and an embarrassment to a lot of Russian Orthodox People. He's also a racist. He tries to vilify the Jews but what he is really doing is giving Holy Orthodoxy a bad name. He believes in all the old blood libels even though he was born a Jew. If he were my kin I would most definitely throw him a funeral and sit shiva for him. One thing about Orthodox Christians is that they have a long and painful relationship with Islam, one that makes them cautious about disrespecting Islam, totally pro-palestinian due to the existence of Palestinian Orthodox Christians, but at the same time ready to fight a religious war against the Muslims if that is what it comes down to. There is a lot that we can learn as both Christians and neighbors of Muslims from the Orthodox.
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  kaik

  I lived under Russian/Soviet occupation and Russians suffer with messianic complex with a desire to control of anyone who is not Russian. They combined one the most aggressive form of nationalism with political ideology and they left millions of dead behind. Russia exported one the most brutal ideology in the history, communism and enslaved under it 1/6 of the world population in the world to it. Orthodox Christianity is also one the most reactionary and backward religions in the word, which also reason, why no orthodox country has prosperous economy nor stable government.
  

  Russia is the most dangerous country to the world peace and it will attempt to conquer Europe or any country south of them.
  
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  Village Idiot

  I heard Putin is the richest man in the world.
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  DJS

  Thanks Kalk,

  As always excellent analysis. I've avoided responding to the Vlad bromance comments because they are not really what the OP is about. Vlad, as I've pointed out before, is KGB through and through. Since he came to power, anyone in Russia directly confronting or challenging him has died swiftly and mysteriously, and he is leading Russia into a recurring 2nd world status economically. To think he is now the moral example for anyone other than mafia hit men or napoleonic wannabes is laughable.

  He has accomplished some positive things for Russia, including modernizing the military and getting the economy out of the hole created by Yeltsin and others, but his threats and actions in the Crimea and the Ukraine suggest a return to the worst of the 20th Century. No one blames them for wanting to secure Mother Russia, and their desire to spread their influence there is of course reasonable. But the 'little green men' firing high tech guided missiles and operating the other military equipment in E. Ukraine are not Ukrainians - they are a Russian trained and equipped assault force. And the population has not welcomed them with wine and roses as he had hoped. He isn't likely to get any of the former republics back, which appears to be his desire, without a lot of bloodshed and a possible escalation of the conflagration to a worldwide level.

  He is a lot of things - a moral compass isn't one of them. Ask the oligarchs; all of them have established an offshore presence, and their moving more of their assets to other countries in a large manner since the recession has really angered Vlad, which is why one of them is now in a Siberian prison. The oligarchs made a deal with the devil so to speak by agreeing to give up any political power in return for their ability to become rich. And stay alive.

  He is also waging 'war' with Russians who don't agree with him, creating laws to punish dissenters quickly and harshly, including by his own paramilitary hit men more reminiscent of the Fedayeen Saddam than anything approaching western views of democratic reform.
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  kaik

  DJS, Putin will ruin Russia and with it everyone around it. Russia is reactionary country with desire to control its neighbors and would engage in the worst form of aggression against them because these states want to choose their own destiny. Every Slavic nation have bad experience with them and dislike them. Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and now Ukraine. They experienced Russian aggression and forceful subjection to their rule or ideology. Russia today is much alike like Nazi Germany using its minority abroad, engaging hostile warfare (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova) and its driven by messianic complex to subject everyone around by force because she thinks that it is the best for the best interest to them. Czech writer Kundera compared Russia to drunken woman waving an axe and demands to be loved, and if the love is not returned she wield it.

  Much of the progress in Russia was driven by two things there by influx of capital due oil and gas, and cheaper credit. This will evaporate and Russian economy will disintegrate. They may experience their own version of territorial disintegration like USSR. For what? For couple Slavic cities and villages in Dombas? For backward Orthodox religion fighting other Orthodox countries? In country which has own problem with Islam from Dagestan and Kalmyk to Tatarstan? Russian will not win confrontation with the West. They just don't have economy for it. Much stronger USSR collapsed. Russia is just half of Eastern block, country without allies. And it is illusion for Rusophils to think China will side with Russia against USA and West. China will exploit it for own benefit.
  
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  kaik

  Miles, I bet you would like Hitler in 1939. There were millions of people who admired him outside Germany and they staged rallies for his support even in New York City. You are disgusting.

  Edmond, I wanted to unlike your comment. You and millions others of Russian admirers believe that Putin and Russian has the right to invade its neighbors because in the past they were invaded or because other countries do that. I remember when we disagreed with occupation of our state by Soviet troops in 1968 onward, the same apologists used the phrase that Moscow had the same rights to do so to us because USA invaded Vietnam and they beat blacks there. Russian in WWI started own aggression against Austria Hungary by shelling Galicia without even declaration of war. Austria was an aggressor against Serbs and Vienna started the conflict, but it was Russia who escalated internationally by invading the neighbor, which caused Germany to enter the conflict. USSR with Hitler carved Poland, and occupied three other countries and took territory from two others (Finland and Romania). Due its war with Finland it was the ONLY country that was ever kicked from League of Nation. For another two years UK bear the war ALONE against Germany while USSR supplied oil, minerals, and know-how with Nazi Germany. And person like you have without shame to say that Russia has the right to invade the others!