Democracy is not only the best political system around because all the others are worse. It is the best because it assumes common sense and sound judgment in a great swathe, sometimes even the majority of the general population. It gives us reason for hope that bad policies and bad politician can be changed peacefully from time to time without bloodshed. And for that reason, I am delighted to receive comments from my readers such as the following from a certain “Eric” whose email address indicates that he is likely writing from Russia. My point is that you don’t have to have an advanced degree in political science to see through rubbish that state broadcasters may send you, and to do this entirely on your own and without coaching.
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Now there was at least proper reports of it on Vesti this morning, but yesterday there was nothing at all about the drone terrorism near Gelendzhik on the news.
Instead they lead with the worthless image of Putin kicking a football around the stage as part of a youth award event. Embarassing.
In a normal country, the President should be making a televised address that same day to the nation over such a serious attack. Making threats to the western supplies and organisers of Kiev, announcing some countermeasures- but he’s long given up the pretense of threatening the west ( nevermind look like he will). What has become implicitly accepted civilian deaths in liberated territories and border regions from Ukrainian attacks is now nonchalantly accepted as inevitable daily mass civilian deaths with 5-8 killed, dozens injured,deep in mainland Russia. No deterrence achieved against this vile regime, mainly because their western controllers have nothing to worry about.
The head of Wildberries, she made a speech that put the likes of Putin to shame in terms of bring upfront with people.
The successful Ukraine strikes are now so daily that a directive of “keep calm” to not spread panic is worthless
This is still in the aftermath of the terror attack in the Moscow restaurant where after 3 days there is still not a single piece of extra information on what happened and ( hopefully not) if General Chaiko was the target with his daughter seriously injured and her husband killed.
Dare I say it, but this indifference in public towards civilian deaths inside Russia deserves to have serious repercussions for Putin and Russian leadership. It’s like the modern day version of the western myth that Soviet generals were throwing around Red Army soldiers to be easily sacrificed- but this time with civilian deaths being treated as non events
And it looks particularly worse as the point you pose remains unanswered- liberation of Donbass won’t lead to the other objectives listed by Putin at the start of the military operation being fulfilled
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Yes, indeed: “the worthless image of Putin kicking a ball.” Those were precisely my thoughts as I watched the opening minutes of Vesti news last night and saw Putin’s smiling face, his basking in the ecstatic greetings extended to him by youths in a vast auditorium for participants in a youth program intended to encourage and support their development into leading professionals of the next generation.
The broadcaster made no concession to the shocking tragedy that was reported later in the news bulletin about the 7 killed, 15 sent to hospital, some with very serious injuries and still more wounded from a Ukrainian drone attack on a popular family holiday resort on the Black Sea in the Krasnodar region. Normal guidance for heads of state in such situations is for them to fly down to the scene of the tragedy, to declare several days of mourning and to address the broad public on what has occurred and what will be done about it. Not to have done so was a self-damaging act by Vladimir Putin that his compatriots will not forgive or forget.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
Gilbert Doctorow 