Maybe there's a convenient narrative that allows the Russian people to continue to feel good about Putin.
Absolutely... There's no doubt whatsoever that the Russian media panders and offers convenient narratives, but, then again, it's supposed to be par for the course, innit? Given that Russia is a backward benighted dictatorship and all that jazz... The fact that it appears to be happening in the US, that veritable pinnacle of enlightened democracy, is rather more unfortunate.
Agreed. One of the most radicalizing things that can happen to a person is to discover the concept of socialization, and especially its relativity.
I find this to be a really very well-balanced and sensible point of view: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...f6a58a-a311-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html BTW, the New York Times interpretation of the Merkel comment that the article refers to is, apparently, a bit of journalistic license. Allegedly, according to Die Welt, at least, Germans are not happy with Merkel's comments being taken out of context. http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschl...ls-Drahtseilakt-zwischen-Putin-und-Obama.html