Insight on Putin

A little insight on Vladimir Putin: He was a KGB officer, and as president, conducted genocidal war in Chechnya, giving his military a free hand to indiscriminately strike terror into the hearts of the Chechnya people, resulting in the deaths of thousands of men, women and children. Putin put an end to free speech by taking over all state and privately owned broadcast media. Opposition leaders have turned up dead since Putin took office, including Russian human rights lawyers and journalists. Massive voter fraud, apathy and indifference toward civil liberties and controlled propaganda through the state-owned media have contributed to Putin’s dictatorial power.

Our current president has called Putin a great leader and praised his intelligence and, during the campaign, “joked” about asking Russia to hack into his opponent’s emails. His national security advisor had to resign over contacts with a Russian diplomat. One can only imagine the never-ending outcry if our previous president had acted this way.

Joe Speranzi

Spokane