Khrushcheva: Putin's rhetoric turns long-time Russian critics into rabid backers

It's a shame that there seem to be no more liberals or internationalists left in Russia:  

People I know in Russia, members of the intelligentsia and professionals who have long been critical of President Vladimir Putin’s anti-Western stance, have suddenly turned into America-bashers. Many have been swept away by Putin’s arguments that the United States, not the Kremlin, is destabilizing Ukraine.

[...]  A (now former) friend recently told me, “How dare you look for answers when Russia is under the attack of the ‘new colonialism,’ ” — a “threat” that Putin first spoke of in 2007.

The Kremlin is banking on this time-tested totalitarian propaganda technique: Use overwhelming patriotic fervor against an enemy. Then your people, even if skeptical of you, will not believe the words of other governments.  

Unfortunately, I can say that I'm also at risk of losing a few friends over Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Many Russians have simply gone crazy these past few months....

Putin’s anti-American rhetoric now persuades his harshest critics

By Nina Khrushcheva

July 29, 2014 | Reuters

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS183962287320140729