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

Khrushcheva: Remember when USSR shot down S. Korean airliner

I would like to be so optimistic that Putin is digging his own grave with his neo-imperial, 19th century foreign policy against his near neighbors such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

But my gut tells me he won't quit out of embarrassment at "worldwide condemnation" or even because of crippling sectoral sanctions on Russia's economy. He'll keep going till somebody stops him, by force.

That's certainly what Poland, the Baltics, Romania and others like Kazakhstan are worrying about right now: which one of them is next?

Putin's Tipping Point? Remembering What Happened When the Soviets Shot Down a Plane

By Nina L. Khrushcheva

July 23, 2014 | Huffington Post

URL: http://huff.to/1z35tqh