Putin is a very very scary man. anyone with the kind of power he weilds is scary. but does that make him a bad man? a bad leader? mmmm.....

in The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein -focusing on America post-Katina and 9-11 - details how governments use fear during crisis to pass -and put into law- things the public would never allow during more stable times. Putin is a master at the technique. according to Masha Gessen's book he is not above enflaming or completely fabricating a situation so it plays out in the senerio that best suits his needs.

as Gessen says, 'once a spy always a spy', and his idea on how the government of Russia should run is based on what he learned in his KGB and FSB days. she gives example after example, how in response to each terrorist bombing or hostage taking, Putin became more and more ruthless. restricting the media, changing election criteria to limit or squash opposition parties, removing voices of dissent. she gives example after example of journalists and whistleblowers who die -many of "organ failure due to an unknown toxin".

i recently read a biography of Lenin that stated that Bolshevism came to embody the idea that the ends justify the means. ANY means. saying the same of Putin may be a bit of an exaggeration .... i don't know, still i can't help but wonder if the people of Chechnya would say it was an exageration.