There are many good things to be said about Russia, and as I have noted before, I have tried to keep a hopeful eye open for Russia’s actions because while she has her past history, both distant and recent, her public professions of Christianity have given some possible hope that the nation might be able to stand up to the tide of immorality flowing over the world. However, I have warned that within Russia, there is a lot of corruption, rebellion against morality, and a desire among many to return to the days of the USSR. It is this struggle that is most concerning, for if the latter were to win, it would be a near sign of not only more trouble for the long-suffering Russian people, but a sign of war for the future.
President Putin of Russia has much good that can be said about him, but there is also a lot that is not good, including rampant corruption as the standard of living for the average Russian continues to decline, a declining economy, rampant public corruption, and the return of Soviet-like tactics to public life in spite of public bluffs to the contrary. Just like in Soviet times, there is a seeming tendency for Russia to promote herself as one thing while not denying or addressing the contrary, when it is the contrary side that is the reality.
I have noted how the Russian government has been attempting to censor the Internet, develop an autarchal approach to economics and trade, and is being influenced by persons who are sodomites involved in satanism that also claim “Russian orthodox traditionalism” such as Aleksandr Dugin. Now another major story has come out of Russia which states that the entire government of Russia has resigned after Putin declared pending ‘reforms’ to the Constitution that seem to result in his continued consolidation of power.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced that the entire government is resigning in a surprise statement released shortly after President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address.
Accepting the resignation, Putin thanked the ministers for their hard work and asked them to function as a caretaker government until a new one can be formed.
Medvedev and Putin had met for a work meeting to discuss the state-of-the-nation address earlier on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Medvedev explained that the cabinet is resigning in accordance with Article 117 of the Russian Constitution, which states that the government can offer its resignation to the president, who can either accept or reject it.
During his speech, Putin said he intended to create the position of deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, which would be offered to Medvedev.
Medvedev’s move to the new role will mean Russia will have a new prime minister when a new government is formed.
Putin also proposed multiple amendments to Russia’s constitution. His proposals would entail “substantial changes” to the constitution as well as to the “entire balance of power, the power of the executive, the power of the legislature, the power of the judiciary,” Medvedev explained.
“In this context, it is obvious that, as the government, we must provide the president with a capability to make all decisions,” which are required to implement the proposed plan, Medvedev said announcing the en-masse resignation.
…
Another idea voiced by Putin is to make the consultation body, the State Council, a permanent fixture, with its status and role written into the constitution. The president praised the council’s effectiveness, stressing that its working groups ensure the most important problems for the people are thoroughly looked into.
‘Russia in Global Affairs’ Editor-in-Chief Fyodor Lukyanov told RT that the change will be a step towards the “diversification of power” at a time when the country is being “increasingly governed in a ‘manual control’ mode and fully fixated on the president.”
“The resignation symbolizes the current ‘reboot’ of the political system” ahead of the 2021 parliamentary and 2024 presidential elections, Dmitry Badovsky, head of the Moscow-based Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies, told RT.
The cabinet’s resignation is also “tied in with the constitutional amendment package” proposed by Putin on Wednesday. (source)
Some years ago, I met by chance as a student at a conference Konstantin Preobrazhensky, a former high-ranking KGB Officer who defected to the USA in the 1990s after his retirement. Preobrazhensky is known for his criticism of Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, the latter of which he (as of recent) considers himself a member, and has said that the KGB and the ROC are the same entity, and that the KGB was reborn and is completely alive today.
I did not know who he was in such details at the time. However, I was aware of the situation in Georgia that happened in 2004 (to put this in perspective, the year at the time was 2005), and I asked him what he thought about the ordeal. He told me clearly that the reason was not about politics, but one of spirituality. In his words, he said that Putin does not believe in Christianity, but that he only uses it to advance an image of society he wants to present. He elaborated saying that Putin had “mental problems” and that the Orthodox clergy seen with him is a psychiatrist who helps him, especially with medication. What was most interesting was that he said Putin invaded Georgia because Georgia is the nation where Stalin came from, and that Putin believes that if he is able to successfully invade and conquer Georgia, he would be able to “channel the spirit of Stalin” and by doing this could revive Russia to her former glory days.
I have no other source for this data other than our conversation. I have never heard this discussed to the same detail as what I was told. However, a report from Al-Jazeera News in 2015 revealed in an interesting dialogue that Putin is said to “call upon the spirit of Stalin”:
“Putin recreates many of the past communist methods of government,” Yan Rochinsky, co-chairman of the Memorial rights group, told Al Jazeera. “Without calling Stalin’s name, Putin calls upon his spirit.” (source, source)
One article notes that the relationship between Stalin, Putin, and the political ideal of a Russian glory they both aspire to is a perversion in the form of a secular trinity. Putin has also repeatedly defended Stalin, saying that to attack Stalin is a covert way to attack Russia and the Russian people.
Regardless of whether or not one likes Stalin, the fact is that Stalin was a mass murderer whose actions resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of people and has earned him a place of infamy along with his contemporaries of Hitler in Germany and Chairman Mao of China. To call him a “product of his age,” as Putin has done, crassly and intentionally ignore the crimes he committed as well as contributes to the cultural divinization of Stalin that happened during his life and after his death as part of asserting a Sovietesque ideal.
This the concern today, that Putin’s actions are an attempt to mirror his heroes in the USSR, specifically that of Stalin, who many would argue was an extremely evil dictator by his actions.
Unfortunately, Putin’s actions suggest that he is attempting to follow through on realizing his dream of reviving the USSR, with him as the new Stalin or perhaps Czar.
It will be interesting to see what he does after this, for there are major implications for Russia’s future. In the words of the song by the band Iron Maiden:
Mother Russia, Dance of the czars
Hold up your heads, remember who you are
Can you release, the anger, the grief
Can you be happy now your people are free?