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The Ghost of August Past Haunts Russian Again
Not that anything seems like it will happen on this storied date, but Putin’s nervousness is becoming more noticeable.
Moscow residents greet the thanks sent by the leader of the State Committee for the Emergency Situation. Mikhail Gorbachev was under house arrest at his dacha on the Black Sea, and the world was waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.
The Russian economy collapsed on August 17, 1998. Russians can be seen waiting in line to buy dollars as the ruble lost value by the hour and sometimes minutes.
The world and Russia would get their first taste of Putin’s panic mode. When things go unexpectedly wrong in Putin’s world, he vanishes. Similar to the way other cowardly bullies act, rather than face the problems head-on and problem-solve, Putin disappears and lets the blame fall on others. When the Kursk nuclear submarine signaled distress, Vladimir Putin was on vacation at his…
