West Demonizes Putin for Making Russia Feel Great Again – Czech Media

The current Western efforts to demonize Vladimir Putin largely stem from EU and US frustration about Russia’s social and political advances of the past fifteen years, a Czech newspaper wrote Monday

 

By the time Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, Russia was in a state of utter economic disrepair, with the mafia and foreign capital ruling supreme, regional bosses doing whatever they pleased lining their pockets and siphoning off funds sorely needed to finance construction, health care, social infrastructure and the military.The population was dwindling and the Russians no longer felt proud of their country.

Meanwhile, the trials and tribulations the country went through under Mikhail Gorbachev and then Boris Yeltsin were eagerly welcomed in the West, Czech Free Press wrote in a comment.

“In actual fact, the West was, to a large extent, responsible for what was happening to Russia as the US and EU plan to turn an undefeated Cold War-era adversary into a crushed and helpless colony, a provider mineral resources to the developed nations, was gradually coming true,” the article said.

Things started to change after Vladimir Putin became President – something the West never expected. By then Putin was already a seasoned diplomat perfectly able to learn from the mistakes made by his predecessors.

And learn he did turning Russia’s 21st century policy all around,” the author emphasized.

“The Russian Federation eventually became a country the West now had to reckon with and a partner to many countries which were no longer willing to do business with the US. And this is the only and genuine reason behind the current Western attempts to contain Russia,” Czech Free Press wrote in a comment.

R

Czech ex-leader says Russia not responsible for Ukraine crisis

 

March 19,  PRAGUE
According to Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Ukraine failed to implement the transition period from totalitarism

Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus

PRAGUE, March 19. /TASS/.  Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus in an interview published at ceskatelevize.cz website on Thursday said Russia bears no responsibility for the crisis in Ukraine, which should resolve its problems independently.

Klaus said the crisis didn’t come to Ukraine from the outside. According to him, Ukraine is “a country that failed to implement the transition period from totalitarism.”

The ex-leader noted that Ukraine was not ready to answer the question whether it wanted to move eastward or westward.

“The European Union and Russia should have backtracked and allowed Ukraine to solve its problems independently.”

Klaus said the West was to blame for the growing crisis in Ukraine, which had fallen apart after the Maidan events supported by the US and European Union.