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by rzhikharevich 1455 days ago
Not quite sure about easterners. At least most Russians seem to have entrusted a certain former KGB agent :)
2 comments

i dont think voting for someone into leadership is equivalent to thinking they are nice, good, trustworthy, etc. it could be as simple as no better alternative
There is no ‘voting’ when the government controls the media and any opposition gaining momentum is inevitably jailed, poisoned or falls out a window.
or when there was you just bomb the parliament [0] except that time the west fully supported this brutality. selective democracy?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Russian_constitutional_cr...

GP said that it’s a dictatorship. Now you imply that they chose Putin. Which is it?
Not sure the GP had this mind, but if Putin won a free election before becoming an autocrat, that would satisfy both constraints.
I think the difference is this

Russian Government: We will bomb X because they pose a threat to Russia's interests

American Government: We will bomb X because they need freedom

He had already been appointed to a position where he had the power to rig his first election.
At what point does the democractic mandate run out? He’s been in power for a awhile.