Retro Russia

Does it seem at all coincidental to you that premier puffer Putin, all swollen with Cossack pride after winning the Olympic medal count, now decides to flex and display Russia’s military superiority?

Just because “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” is returning doesn’t mean that we all have to enter “the way-back machine” to time-travel back to the Cold War days of Khrushchev and Brezhnev.

The world has to keep in mind that this is Russia and not the Soviet Union. Much of life there is similar enough that the confusion is easily understood. But it’s clear to virtually every other country that the country is led by someone whose primary consideration is not what’s best for the Russian people, but what makes Putin look “fantastic” – with or without a shirt.

It’s why he reveled in the credit he got for brokering the Syrian chemical weapons deal. He’s not a fool and he doesn’t want to look foolish to the rest of the world. So strategically he can’t create another Chechnya. So let’s take a breath, express our strong objections, and wait for the image of Arnold Schwartzenputin to self-destruct.

I’m Pat McMahon.

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