Putin Has Done a Real Bang-Up Job at Making Russia More Secure
He had the world by the b**** a year ago and now the world has his in a jar
All other things being equal, Russia was in a good pla ce last February. The world was bending over backward trying to cater to its caprice. Oh, how a year, especially one like 2022, can change a person.
Last February, world leaders were scurrying to and fro, calling or traveling to Moscow to kiss Putin’s ring. No one wanted him to invade Ukraine. The world was ready to make concessions and on the eve of the war and all of the cards were in Putin’s chapped-little hands.
Remember the ridiculously long tables and the way that grown men and women would sit at the far ends of them as if anchoring them so they didn’t fly away? We tolerated so — too, even — much. We tolerated his moods, the tantrums, and the incessant scowling. The slumped shoulders and the off-center tie made him look like the tough kid forced to wear a uniform.
Gas and oil were at whatever price the market bore and everyone was paying Russia for the energy it couldn’t imagine living without. Russian banks were integrated with the world and billions upon billions of Russia’s stolen and ill-gotten funds were invested in boats, real estate, airplanes, cars, clubs, professional…
