Nothing New Under the Russian Sun

[Мастер]

Not exactly new, but I just found it. Boris Yeltsin warning Bill Clinton back in 1996.

“There is a U.S. press campaign suggesting that people should not be afraid of the communists; that they are good, honorable and kind people. I warn people not to believe this. More than half of them are fanatics; they would destroy everything. It would mean civil war," he said."They would abolish the boundaries between the republics. They want to take back Crimea; they even make claims against Alaska."

And Yeltsin talking about his successor.

“Putin, of course. He will be the successor to Boris Yeltsin. He's a democrat, and he knows the West," Yeltsin said, speaking of himself in the third person.

https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-s-a-solid ... 62317.html

[Heid the Ba]

Odd that Yeltsin is now the wise old man of Russian politics.

[Richard A]

Though arguably, he did a lot to get Putin to where he is now. I think that although he has unquestionably rigged every election he has stood in, it is more questionable whether he had to rig the early ones. The West has had its embarrassing leaders: Heid and Lianachan have had plenty to say about both Sturgeon and Yousuf, Britain has had BoJo and then Liz Truss. Austria with its Chancellor caught playing games on his phone during a debate in Parliament. But what Yeltsin put Russia through was on another level. Your President arriving for a state visit and the welcoming government delegation waiting on the red carpet for an hour while his team attempt to sober him up. And let's not forget that while Trump talked about grabbing 'em by the pussy, Yeltsin actually did it. Both incidents watched by the world on global TV. I can imagine that when Putin said he'd make Russia great again, that resonated with a lot of people.

[Мастер]

https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congr ... cab-021553