Dear CCI Readers,
Seldom does an article strike a chord of truth in the heart as does the piece below. Written by an insightful American man, formerly a professor in the south, Hal Freeman is now rearing his second family in the countryside of Russia.
Hal and his wife married and lived in the U.S., then decided to move to Russia several years ago. He frequently writes posts that deal with the differences and similarities in his two countries. Hal loves America and he loves Russia. His is an honest, non-condemning voice regarding both of them.
This latest post is about Putin’s last address to the nation in which he recommended changes to the Russian Constitution. Hal points out that the Constitution changes were a very small part of Putin’s major address. Read, educate yourself and wonder, as do we, how Western media picks and chooses what to reveal to us, the American public.
Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives
PUTIN’S SPEECH TO THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY
February 24, 2020
By Hal Freeman
On January 15, 2020 Vladimir Putin delivered his speech to the Federal Assembly that attracted quite a bit of attention. I was reluctant to write a blog on it. First, I was recovering from pneumonia, which invaded our house over the holidays. Both my kids and I came down with it. Second, there were many articles that appeared in English which focused on the speech. Fortunately, we all have recovered fully from the pneumonia, thanks to excellent and inexpensive medical care here.
More importantly, most of the articles I read on the speech focused only on his comments at the end of the speech about proposed changes in the Constitution. Actually they didn’t really focus on what he said. They focused on what they thought he meant by what he said. The overwhelming number of articles in the American press tried to read into the speech that Putin was setting up how he was going to sustain his political control over Russia after his present terms ends in 2024. A good example of what I’m talking about is the short article by Jonathan Wachtel from the Fox News site. https://www.foxnews.com/media/jonathan-wachtel-vladimir-putin-making-moves-russian-president-for-life. I think Gilbert Doctorow analyzed well articles such as Wachtel’s.
“Hence, the flurry of articles following Mr. Putin’s address to the bicameral legislature a week ago which sought to portray the constitutional changes he promised as serving only one purpose: to perpetuate his dominance and control over Russian politics after his presidential term ends in 2024. That was so despite the fact that nothing whatsoever in his proposed reforms would facilitate the stated objective and despite the fact that the changes, which diminish his power when implemented, would come four years before he has to relinquish his office.”