An interesting analysis of Russia

From Maureen Orth writing at Vanity Fair:

The Numbers Vladimir Putin Doesn't Want You to See
Russians prefer alternative reality.

In the days since Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, the Russian people are once again feeling good about their country. A robust 63 percent of them say they consider Russia a "great power," according to a survey released this week by the Levada Center, a respected Russian polling firm. The survey also found that Putin's approval rating is now at 80 percent, a 17-point rebound from his all-time low, just one year ago.

In 2000, when Putin had just been elected the first time, I wrote a profile of him for this magazine. The reality I discovered in the numbers then was shocking. They represented the greatest challenge Putin faced: the dire demographics of Russia.

I found that two out of three Russian men who died, died drunk. The country's death rate far exceeded its birth rate: in 2000, life expectancy for men was only 58, and for women 71. The syphilis rate among girls 10 to 14 - a statistical category that boggles the mind - had gone up 40 times the previous decade, and only 30 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 17 were considered healthy. Cheap heroin from Afghanistan was rolling in, and an H.I.V. epidemic spread by dirty needles was taking hold. Predictions then were that Russia, with a population of 146 million, could become a nation of fewer than 100 million people by 2025, and hardly a superpower: The country was aging and the birth rate was plummeting. Putin himself in his first State of the Nation address in July 2000 warned the Russian people, "We are in danger of becoming a senile nation." When Putin annexed Crimea, I only half facetiously wondered whether this was his way of tackling the population deficit.

And today?

I decided to revisit Russia's numbers. They do not make a pretty picture.

From Socialism to Fascisim -- the slide to the bottom continues with the USA about 10 years behind. A lot more at the article. We could reign in Putin in six months but noooooo... Our minders think that we need to be diplomatic.