Vladimir Putin is arguably the most talked about personality on the planet. He is loathed and loved in what appears equal measure. But is this ratio accurate? The indicators show he is loved by many more than he is hated. If you read or listen to mainstream news media pundits Vladimir Putin is the most evil man on the planet. If you believe what you read and hear from these sources then your opinion of the man probably goes along these lines; he’s a murderer, his political opponents always meet with a sticky end by being poisoned or otherwise disposed of. You will strongly suspect that he has squirrelled away millions, even billions as he is also a thief. For you Putin is a ruthless dictator and highly likely an insane psychopath who would stab his own grandmother in the back to retain his power. Someone who, in the spur of the moment invaded a helpless Ukraine without the slightest provocation. In short, a man with no redeeming qualities whatsoever who the world would be far better off without. All of the above also goes for the preponderance, almost 100% of anything said by western politicians. This has been true since 2007. Not between 2000 when he became the president of the Russian Federation and 2007 however. Putin became all these horrific things only seven years into his presidency. Between 2000 and 2007 he was wined and dined, glad-handed by the rich and famous, praised by George W. Bush and greeted with decorous respect by the British royal family. So what changed? To discover what transformed Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin from something of a hero to a horrific comic book villain you need only listen to his address to the high and mighty of the western political elite on February 10th 2007 at the 43rd Munich Security Conference.   Having watched the video you may be somewhat confused. Doesn’t he say that Russia would cooperate with the western powers on areas of mutual interest such as nuclear proliferation and international terrorism? Why should the western elites take umbrage at that? But this offer of cooperation fell on deaf ears. Why? Because they were sitting there expecting to hear a different message entirely. What they wanted to hear was that Russia would subordinate itself to western dominance and submit to whatever advice (instructions/commands) it received from those who had won the Cold War. What Putin had pointed out was that the western powers, through their regime change wars had destabilised the world and created an atmosphere of extreme mistrust and anxiety concerning the idea that the West now had virtual carte blanche to do what it liked anywhere it liked and at any time it liked. Putin explained with utmost clarity that Russia would not be lending itself to the western project to dominate all others while acting responsibly to assist cooperatively where mutual interests were involved. In short Russia would not toe the line, would not say “How high?” when the USA and its allies shouted “Jump!” Russia was going to stay an independent, sovereign nation and make her own decisions depending on the merits of each case as it emerged onto the world stage once again as a great power. All this went down like a lead balloon among the designer-suited assembly in Munich that day. Instead of being a sober Yeltsin and willing pawn to the West Putin had refused to consign Russia to that fate. This was anathema to those who, after 9/11, assumed the whole world would back them to the hilt, no questions asked. Thus, the tables were very much turned against Vladimir Putin and have remained so from that day to this. So, this is why the political elites of the West loathe Putin and essentially this is why their mouthpieces within western mainstream/legacy media, the politicians’ Rottweilers got busy from 2007 on slandering the hell out of Putin to so constantly demonise him that the minds of just about everyone across the western sphere of influence was conditioned to believe in those highly negative characteristics listed at the head of this commentary. But lo and behold. What’s this? What do we find in the comments section below just about every video and article concerning this man? What we find are readers and viewers singing his praises and in the most laudatory fashion imaginable. How can this be? Surely this is just wrong? Isn’t this a butcher, a mass murderer, a thief and vile dictator who has his opponents poisoned or otherwise got rid of? But no, the vast majority of those commenting believe none of this. Their opinion has been formed quite separately from the videos, magazines, books, documentaries and films that portray Vladimir Putin in the worst possible light. The opinions we find are quite clearly based on other sources of information, more personal sources such as his speeches, his Q&A sessions, his calm demeanour and apparent deep insight, his love of country and people and most importantly observation of the man over extended periods. He is seen as strong but kind, noble, a man with integrity and vision, a patriot and defender of traditional values. In short, well… they simply love him to bits and wish they had politicians like him in their countries. The disconnect between the small coterie within the western political and legacy media classes along with those who bow to the needs of the liberal class within certain political parties and the average man and woman in the street is simply enormous when it comes to Vladimir Putin. It is quite something to behold and this gap between those who believe they have an inherent right to rule and those they rule over is extremely pronounced. Of course these few will never bring up this subject and will ignore this discrepancy completely. Only at election times in the nations where the few hold an entirely different view of this kind to the majority of the electorate will we see how this all pans out. Until then Putin’s popularity will almost certainly remain the worst kept secret on the planet.

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