Hey JAB, so nice of U to share U-know-what with us. CCC-P U later! 555 :)

Interesting! I don't think Vlad has any delusions about restoring the old commie Soviet dictatorship which delivered nothing but misery for its people. But it looks like he wants to restore its constituent parts in order to recreate the glory of Mother Russia -- this time as a huge energy company/oligarchy. An oligarchy of him, the new oil barons, and his old KGB pals. Better off bringing back Peter the Great, and joining the culture of the Western world again.

Thanks Milton for your brilliant parroting of CNN. You obviously have no clue what you are talking about and what is at stake in that part of the world. Russia doesn't want a pro-west government joining the EU and NATO and parking weapons near its borders or inviting more terrorists to a new safe haven for attacks on Moscow. Comparisons to Peter the Great? Are you joking? Go back to lurking already or alternatively write a parody and actually participate on this site instead of leaving comments and playing childish games. Seriously dude. Grow up.

Observer, you ought to read the parody before you impale yourself any further. Mr. Barry says Putin's motivation is to restore the Soviet Union. I say that nobody in his right mind would want to do that, and Putin is in his right mind. He is a patriot who wants to restore an imperial Russia with wealth, military, and land mass to be the center of gravity for countries in its orbit. As for your non sequitur of Russia wanting quiescent, buffer border states not allied with EU or NATO, that deserves a big "duh"! Did you just discover the concept of "sphere of influence"? For the record, I don't watch CNN, but I do tune in to BBC America, Al Jazeera America, and RN America. You ought to get out of your Fox box and do the same. Take your own advice and switch your status from passive observer-sniper to participating parodist.