RD2003
Got a really fucking shitty attitude
It's interesting to recall the widespread speculation, in the '90s, about who would be the Russian demagogue. First it was Zhironovsky (probably a tool of Soviet/Russian 'liberals'), and then, more plausibly, Alexander Lebed ('I'll kill 100,000 Russians so that 100 million can live better.')* Lebed, an even more typically Russian character than Putin (or Yeltsin for that matter), was widely touted by western commentators as 'the Russian Pinochet' (some of these commentators clearly had a hard-on), but he didn't appear to have enough backing from the Russian elite, and was, in the end, easily fucked over by Yeltsin, who seemed to have previously looked favourably upon him.
So Putin it was then, although his attitude towards the west was ambiguous in the beginning, and he was looked upon favourably in many quarters in the west for bringing order to the chaos of 'the Wild East', and thus a more favourable environment for business.
*In contrast to Lebed's bravado, Putin has killed nowhere near 100,000 Russians, although it's possible he indirectly will have before the Ukraine misadventure is over.
So Putin it was then, although his attitude towards the west was ambiguous in the beginning, and he was looked upon favourably in many quarters in the west for bringing order to the chaos of 'the Wild East', and thus a more favourable environment for business.
*In contrast to Lebed's bravado, Putin has killed nowhere near 100,000 Russians, although it's possible he indirectly will have before the Ukraine misadventure is over.