Russian President Vladimir Putin (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)

Putin’s Power: Why Russians Adore Their Bare-Chested Reagan -- Josh Weil, Time

The history of strongmen leaders helps fuel a passion for capitalism—even if there's a cost

There he is, the President of Russia, riding bare-back and bare-chested astride a galloping steed; spending $50 billion on a resort town most Russians will never see; seizing Crimea, instigating unrest in Ukraine; maybe even making himself indirectly responsible for the murder of nearly 300 innocents aboard a downed passenger plane: Vladimir Putin, shaking his fist in the face of a West that often seems unable to do more than avert its eyes.

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My Comment: Putin is no Reagan .... not even close. President Reagan understood what was American exceptionalism .... and it was not because of it's economy, it's military, it's accomplishments in science or in diplomacy .... President Reagan understood that what made America great was because of the ideas and philosophy that the founders instilled in the U.S. when it gained it's independence .... ideas and a philosophy that became enshrined in a Constitution that trumpeted the freedom and rights of man over the state. As I have said many times in this blog .... this was .... and still is .... a novel concept for the world .... that the freedom of the individual is actually more important than the freedom of the state.

In Russia .... Russian President Putin sees the state as the more important institution .... not the individual. And the rights that are enshrined in the Russian constitution are actually rights that limit the freedoms and opportunities for the individual .... the exact opposite of what the U.S. Constitution is all about.

Regular readers of this blog know that my nationality is Russian .... so I have a certain perspective on what is happening back home (even though I live in Canada now .... I go back every year). Putin is popular because he came to power when the entire Russian political/social/and economic structure had collapsed. He promised those that put him in power that he would marshal the power of the state to get rid of the corrupt oligarchs, to curtail the many mafias, to address the uprisings in the Caucasus .... and more importantly to the average Russian .... to use the power and authority of the state to make sure that the vulnerable were taken care of. Case in point .... my aunt who lives in Moscow. As a pensioner she did not have much, but Putin catered to people like her in making sure that she did get a livable pension, that she was independent, that she has medical care, and that she had a decent apartment to live in ... which she has. As a result .... she and her friends will always vote for Putin .... they adore him and he in turn respects them .... because it is these people who are his base. But his weakness has always been the economy .... and he himself is acutely aware on how fragile his support really is .... especially if the economy goes "south".