Nicole~’s Reviews > Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped > Status Update

Every society has its dissidents, not just dictatorships. They speak for the disenfranchised, the ignored, and the persecuted. Listen to them now, because they speak of what is to come.

my last policy recommendation is to listen to the dissidents, even if you do not like what they have to say. They are the ones who reveal to us the dark realities of our societies, the realities that most of us have the luxury to turn away from. Listen to the dissidents because they warn us of the threats that target minorities first and inevitably spread to the majority.

Putin’s early themes of restoring the national pride and structure that were lost with the fall of the USSR have slowly run out of steam and been replaced with a toxic mixture of nationalism, belligerence, and hatred.

Vladimir Putin wants Russia to exist in the great power era of tsars and monarchs, dominating its neighbors by force and undisturbed by elections and rights complaints.

But enemies do exist, whether we admit it or not. They are the enemies of what America and the rest of the free world stand for. Whether it is Putin or ISIS, these forces cannot be defeated with engagement.

evil no longer had a familiar form. As 9/11 taught us, the dangers are real even though the battle lines are unclear. Allies of convenience have replaced alliances based on history and values. This is the natural result of over twenty years of treating everyone like a potential friend, a practice that emboldens enemies and confuses true allies.

By 1936, Hitler’s government had already spent years persecuting Germany’s Jews. The Nazis also attacked homosexuals, the handicapped, gypsies, and political opponents, a model of oppressing the most vulnerable that Putin is following by going after immigrants, gays, and the opposition. It’s a tragedy that the free world always refuses to learn from past mistakes where dictators and would-be dictators are concerned.

We lived in fear because we knew what would happen to us if we gave any hint of dissent against the regime...to take on the next argument I often hear, brutal totalitarianism does not begin with surveillance by a liberal democratic state. It begins with terror, it begins with violence, and it begins with the knowledge that your thoughts and words can end your career or your life.

the word “mafia”...is simply a more accurate way of defining the Putin regime than traditional political terms. The boss is the man who can provide protection, who can make deals with the authorities and keep the money flowing in. Europe and America are the authorities... But the boss, Putin, has them in his pocket and as long as he keeps the money coming in he will stay right where he is.

I call it “The Myths of Putin’s Russia,” and at the top of the list is “Putin Is Popular.” Now that Putin has been in power for fifteen years, has invaded his second European country in six years, and goes on TV to snarl about Russia’s nuclear weapons, it may be difficult for some to recall how differently he was seen not so long ago.