In Russia, there are often wild conspiracy theories that blame a convoluted American scheme for anything that goes wrong anywhere. These theories pervade much of the state controlled media. The journalists who purvey them no doubt think this serves Russia's state interest, even if the state formally says otherwise. The damage to America is real, but the greatest harm they do is to Russia's own interests, and to its very sanity.
And what of Putin?
There is the Putin of conspiracy theories. The Putin who blames the Kursk sinking on the independent media and proceeds to take it out on the Russian media. Who blames the Beslan terrorists on Western powers trying to break Russia into pieces, and takes it out on the West (and on Russia's own long-term interests) in Russian foreign policy. Who bundles together, into one vast occult power, the Democrats, the Media, the Terrorists, the West.
And then again, there is the Putin who spoke on 9-11-2009. He used a very different tone, one that recalled his better days: "I believe that this is yet another reminder that in the war against universal threats, we must put behind us all possible contradictions and arguments, and join forces.
It was an echo of the Putin of 2001. A wiser Putin. One who looked at the larger picture, at what was really being done by major entities in the world rather than at monsters emanating out of the imagination. And who had the common sense to discern the basic interests of Russia in this actual world situation.
It was a Putin that never was the whole Putin, but one that in some periods was able to prevail over the other Putin -- the Putin of cheap resentments and revenges. And one that evidently still exists somewhere inside the Putin of today.
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