Siberia might invoke different pictures in different minds. For us it is so far clouds without rain, drizzle, rain or strong rain. Yet the countryside looks the same as it did after we entered Russia - a vast flat land consisting of meadows and fields with some mixed forest and a lot of birches. Only the Ural cuts the monotony of the view. Thus I am not taking pictures, but as a proper tourist in a foreign country I am enjoying the cultural differences by mainly eating and sleeping.
I am starting to get the idea why the Russians might want to vote the way they do. Of course, my ideas from time to time exert the impeccable quality of being totally wrong, but in that I will happily follow the paradigm successfully established by the politicians and the media. I look around and see the overwhelming majority of the cars being the new western made cars, roads that are getting repaired and there seems to be some stability to life. I also know that Russians are very proud and do not take it lightly being compared to some third world country or told that they are a "has-been-superpower". It seems that these conditions usually bring forward a man with strong ideas or rhetorical abilities (Reagan comes to mind in the malaise of the post Vietnam era), or just a pure strongman or dictator (Hitler comes to mind in the post Versailles era). So I think that the way you see Putin is probably influenced by the country you live in. A heavy dose of propaganda of course helps quite a bit too.
As you may see, my topics are getting a bit irrelevant. That must be either because of the gas fumes leaking into the car or because all goes reasonably well. We had only some minor problems with a starter and with a carburetor. We also do not hit each other with blunt objects yet as could be expected in a submarine called Trabant. And while nobody comments on our exceedingly good looks, a lot of people comments on the unusual beauty of our Trabant. From the truck drivers to the local motorcycle clubs, all seem to be in awe. Yet, we are not envious. As long as the Trabant drives us towards the Mongolian border, it can have all the fame it is getting.
Note: And the next day all the hell broke loose. As it usually does when all goes well.
I am starting to get the idea why the Russians might want to vote the way they do. Of course, my ideas from time to time exert the impeccable quality of being totally wrong, but in that I will happily follow the paradigm successfully established by the politicians and the media. I look around and see the overwhelming majority of the cars being the new western made cars, roads that are getting repaired and there seems to be some stability to life. I also know that Russians are very proud and do not take it lightly being compared to some third world country or told that they are a "has-been-superpower". It seems that these conditions usually bring forward a man with strong ideas or rhetorical abilities (Reagan comes to mind in the malaise of the post Vietnam era), or just a pure strongman or dictator (Hitler comes to mind in the post Versailles era). So I think that the way you see Putin is probably influenced by the country you live in. A heavy dose of propaganda of course helps quite a bit too.
As you may see, my topics are getting a bit irrelevant. That must be either because of the gas fumes leaking into the car or because all goes reasonably well. We had only some minor problems with a starter and with a carburetor. We also do not hit each other with blunt objects yet as could be expected in a submarine called Trabant. And while nobody comments on our exceedingly good looks, a lot of people comments on the unusual beauty of our Trabant. From the truck drivers to the local motorcycle clubs, all seem to be in awe. Yet, we are not envious. As long as the Trabant drives us towards the Mongolian border, it can have all the fame it is getting.
Note: And the next day all the hell broke loose. As it usually does when all goes well.