You're answering a question with yet another question. Furthermore, your question "Is Trump a Soros stooge too?" is simply a deflection from your inability or refusal to answer why you actually support Ukraine.
You asked me if I support children being tossed in jail.
My answer actually explained what happened to those children, and included the fact they were jailed with their protesting parents and they were released after a few days.
Why should I take the position it's a great evil what Russia did to the families of protestors, when it obviously isn't the case?
Of course, when I asked you to compare how Putin treated the prisoners compared to how the United States is treating the January 6th political prisoners, all you could respond with was "Holy moly, that's quite the pivot" and once again talk down with Philosophy 101 tropes about "Whataboutism." This isn't Reddit, fren.
It's clear your arguments are based on emotion and not reason.
You say my uninterrupted support for Putin is concerning, yet you still can't even explain WHY you support Ukraine.
I wonder if you can even explain why supporting Putin is so concerning. What has he done that's so bad? Can you tell me?
Was his statement made at his inauguration speech in 2000 particularly troubling to you?
"We want our Russia to be a free, prosperous, flourishing, strong and civilized country, a country that its citizens are proud of and that is respected internationally."
Was it his public beef with certain Russian mafia businessmen and media tycoons who had largely taken control due to the corruption which abounded in the post-Soviet years, and the favoritism of others of similar ilk, that's the problem?
Was his strong stand against Muslim insurgents taking hostages in 2002 and 2004 what you have a problem with?
Was it his gaming the Russian political system after his second term ended by supporting the winning candidate Dmitry Medvedev, who turned around and appointed Putin as Prime Minister, that was so evil? Was it the fact Dmitry Medvedev stepped down in 2020 so Putin could run for President again that's particularly alarming to you?
Was it his support of the Russian family and strong stance against LGBT and the ban on homosexual and pedophilia propaganda or his statement that homosexual visitors to Russia during the Sochi Winter Olympics should "leave the children in peace" that's upsetting to you?
Or maybe you're upset Putin helped Trump take out ISIS?
Or maybe it's because Putin was accused of interfering in the 2016 US election?
Or maybe it's because Putin arrested communist sympathizers funded by the same groups who funded BLM and Antifa that's troubling you?
Or maybe it was because Barack Obama sanctioned businessmen who were accused of holding funds for Putin after the 2014 invasion of Crimea?
https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/pages/jl23331.asp
I just did a dig into jailed Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who is of joint Russian/Ukrainian descent.
Navalny created a website about Putin and his palace.
Here's the link (It's in Russian)- https://palace.navalny.com/
Here's the Google translation link-
https://palace-navalny-com.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Here's the Yandex translation link-
https://translate.yandex.com/translate?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpalace.navalny.com%2F&lang=ru-en
Navalny seems really upset Putin took advantage of his position in the KGB to gain 15 lbs. while stationed in East Germany near the end of the Cold War. He also writes about Putin's ex-wife being given extravagant gifts such as premium chocolate from foreign leaders and reports Putin has taken luxury vacations in Cannes, France paid for by a German contact from his KGB days, while claiming he spent the time vacationing near the Baltic Sea to the Russian media instead. Navalny claims Putin hides his finances with the help of friends and family and has given favorable deals to friends.
There's no doubt in my mind Putin and many other former KGB agent thrived in post-Soviet years thanks to connections they had with the rich and powerful. According to Navalny, Putin carved out a role for himself by approving licenses for Russian mafiosos while serving in Moscow government before becoming Prime Minister and later President. And once he took power, he helped his KGB friends take control of the oil, natural gas, and construction markets. Navalny claims Putin has actual as well as secret shares in Gazprom (think Nordstream 2 pipeline), Rosneft, and various construction companies.
One of Navalny's biggest accusations is Putin secretly spent 100,000,000,000 rubles on a mansion, currently $988,707,966.32 ( https://rub.currencyrate.today/convert/amount-100000000000-to-usd.html) Keep in mind the value of Russian ruble has dropped since Ukraine invasion, but we're still looking at around $1 billion spent on a mansion.
Where did Putin get so much money? Navalny covers this on his website I linked to above but I found a 2010 Washington Post article which does a better job of summing up the scheme-
Sergey Kolesnikov is one of those brave souls a journalist meets occasionally, who decides to expose what he sees as wrongdoing, regardless of the personal risks. I met him this month and reviewed his notes and other documents supporting his charges. The Russian businessman, who became wealthy through various ventures, including a medical-supply company called Petromed, appears to have nothing to gain personally by attacking Putin - and much to lose. That boosts his credibility in my eyes.
The financing of Putin's hideaway, as Kolesnikov explains it, is a complicated story that centers on a man named Nikolai Shamalov. He is an old St. Petersburg friend of Putin's, with whom he shared a dacha cooperative property there during the 1990s. A Dec. 23, 2009, story in Novya Gazeta named Shamalov as one of Putin's 13 influential business "friends." An attempt to reach Shamalov through Putin's spokesman was unsuccessful.
Kolesnikov says he began working with Shamalov in 2000 after Putin became president. The initial plan was to use contributions from Russian businessmen to purchase medical equipment for clinics in St. Petersburg, with 35 percent of the contract payments diverted to offshore accounts. Millions of dollars of medical equipment was indeed purchased but more than $148 million of these donations allegedly wound up under Shamalov's control, according to the open letter. In 2005, Kolesnikov told me, he was asked by Putin's friend to form an investment company called RosInvest. The ownership was hidden by anonymous "bearer shares," with the bulk held on Putin's behalf, Kolesnikov says he was told by Shamalov.
The palace project began in 2005 with the acquisition of state land near Praskoveevka. Shamalov eventually owned this "Project South," as it was known, through several front companies, the letter alleges. Kolesnikov says that he regularly reviewed invoices and other financial records and that by October 2009 projected spending had reached $1 billion.
So, basically, Putin's business friends donated money to purchase medical equipment for St. Petersburg hospitals, 35% of the donated money was skimmed off the top and hidden in offshore accounts, and Nilolai Shamalov laundered the money through a company he formed called RosInvest and reinvested the money into the very same companies which donated the money, presumably for tax write-offs, in the first place.
Sounds like a typical politician to me, sadly.
Here's the bulk of the dirt I found on Putin after a brief dig-
Panama Papers -
https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/rossiya-putins-bank/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/panama-papers-money-hidden-offshore
New York Times - Putin Faces Sanctions, but His Assets Remain an Enigma On paper, the Russian president appears to own very little. Yet estimates put his hidden wealth well over $100 billion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/world/europe/putin-sanctions-money-assets.html
Archive link - https://archive.ph/csDLM
479 leaked photos purporting to show Putin's secret palace, with an ice rink and pole-dancing room, published by Navalny foundation https://archive.ph/sRVRB
You're answering a question with yet another question. Furthermore, your question "Is Trump a Soros stooge too?" is simply a deflection from your inability or refusal to answer why you actually support Ukraine.
You asked me if I support children being tossed in jail.
My answer actually explained what happened to those children, and included the fact they were jailed with their protesting parents and they were released after a few days.
Why should I take the position it's a great evil what Russia did to the families of protestors, when it obviously isn't the case?
Of course, when I asked you to compare how Putin treated the prisoners compared to how the United States is treating the January 6th political prisoners, all you could respond with was "Holy moly, that's quite the pivot" and once again talk down with Philosophy 101 tropes about "Whataboutism." This isn't Reddit, fren.
It's clear your arguments are based on emotion and not reason.
You say my uninterrupted support for Putin is concerning, yet you still can't even explain WHY you support Ukraine.
I wonder if you can even explain why supporting Putin is so concerning. What has he done that's so bad? Can you tell me?
Was his statement made at his inauguration speech in 2000 particularly troubling to you?
"We want our Russia to be a free, prosperous, flourishing, strong and civilized country, a country that its citizens are proud of and that is respected internationally."
Was it his public beef with certain Russian mafia businessmen and media tycoons who had largely taken control due to the corruption which abounded in the post-Soviet years, and the favortism of others of similar ilk, that's the problem?
Was his strong stand against Muslim insurgents taking hostages in 2002 and 2004 what you have a problem with?
Was it his gaming the Russian political system after his second term ended by supporting the winning candidate Dmitry Medvedev, who turned around and appointed Putin as Prime Minister, that was so evil? Was it the fact Dmitry Medvedev stepped down in 2020 so Putin could run for President again that's particularly alarming to you?
Was it his support of the Russian family and strong stance against LGBT and the ban on homosexual and pedophilia propaganda or his statement that homosexual visitors to Russia during the Sochi Winter Olympics should "leave the children in peace" that's upsetting to you?
Or maybe you're upset Putin helped Trump take out ISIS?
Or maybe it's because Putin was accused of interfering in the 2016 US election?
Or maybe it's because Putin arrested communist sympathizers funded by the same groups who funded BLM and Antifa that's troubling you?
Or maybe it was because Barack Obama sanctioned businessmen who were accused of holding funds for Putin after the 2014 invasion of Crimea?
https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/pages/jl23331.asp
I just did a dig into jailed Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who is of joint Russian/Ukrainian descent.
Navalny created a website about Putin and his palace.
Here's the link (It's in Russian)- https://palace.navalny.com/
Here's the Google translatopn link-
https://palace-navalny-com.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Here's the Yandex translation link-
https://translate.yandex.com/translate?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpalace.navalny.com%2F&lang=ru-en
Navalny seems really upset Putin took advantage of his position in the KGB to gain 15 lbs. while stationed in East Germany near the end of the Cold War. He also writes about Putin's ex-wife being given extravagant gifts such as premium chocolate from foreign leaders and reports Putin has taken luxury vacations in Cannes, France paid for by a German contact from his KGB days, while claiming he spent the time vactioning near the Baltic Sea to the Russian media instead. Navalny claims Putin hides his finances with the help of friends and family and has given favorable deals to friends.
There's no doubt in my mind Putin and many other former KGB agent thrived in post-Soviet years thanks to connections they had with the rich and powerful. According to Navalny, Putin carved out a role for himself by approving licenses for Russian mafiosos while serving in Moscow government before becoming Prime Minister and later President. And once he took power, he helped his KGB friends take control of the oil, natural gas, and construction markets. Navalny claims Putin has actual as well as secret shares in Gazprom (think Nordstream 2 pipeline), Rosneft, and various construction companies.
One of Navalny's biggest accusations is Putin secretly spent 100,000,000,000 rubles on a mansion, currently $988,707,966.32 ( https://rub.currencyrate.today/convert/amount-100000000000-to-usd.html) Keep in mind the value of Russian ruble has dropped since Ukraine invasion, but we're still looking at around $1 billion spent on a mansion.
Where did Putin get so much money? Navalny covers this on his website I linked to above but I found a 2010 Washington Post article which does a better job of summing up the scheme-
Sergey Kolesnikov is one of those brave souls a journalist meets occasionally, who decides to expose what he sees as wrongdoing, regardless of the personal risks. I met him this month and reviewed his notes and other documents supporting his charges. The Russian businessman, who became wealthy through various ventures, including a medical-supply company called Petromed, appears to have nothing to gain personally by attacking Putin - and much to lose. That boosts his credibility in my eyes.
The financing of Putin's hideaway, as Kolesnikov explains it, is a complicated story that centers on a man named Nikolai Shamalov. He is an old St. Petersburg friend of Putin's, with whom he shared a dacha cooperative property there during the 1990s. A Dec. 23, 2009, story in Novya Gazeta named Shamalov as one of Putin's 13 influential business "friends." An attempt to reach Shamalov through Putin's spokesman was unsuccessful.
Kolesnikov says he began working with Shamalov in 2000 after Putin became president. The initial plan was to use contributions from Russian businessmen to purchase medical equipment for clinics in St. Petersburg, with 35 percent of the contract payments diverted to offshore accounts. Millions of dollars of medical equipment was indeed purchased but more than $148 million of these donations allegedly wound up under Shamalov's control, according to the open letter. In 2005, Kolesnikov told me, he was asked by Putin's friend to form an investment company called RosInvest. The ownership was hidden by anonymous "bearer shares," with the bulk held on Putin's behalf, Kolesnikov says he was told by Shamalov.
The palace project began in 2005 with the acquisition of state land near Praskoveevka. Shamalov eventually owned this "Project South," as it was known, through several front companies, the letter alleges. Kolesnikov says that he regularly reviewed invoices and other financial records and that by October 2009 projected spending had reached $1 billion.
So, basically, Putin's business friends donated money to purchase medical equipment for St. Petersburg hospitals, 35% of the donated money was skimmed off the top and hidden in offshore accounts, and Nilolai Shamalov laundered the money through a company he formed called RosInvest and reinvested the money into the very same companies which donated the money, presumably for tax write-offs, in the first place.
Sounds like a typical politician to me, sadly.
Here's the bulk of the dirt I found on Putin after a brief dig-
Panama Papers -
https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/rossiya-putins-bank/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/panama-papers-money-hidden-offshore
New York Times - Putin Faces Sanctions, but His Assets Remain an Enigma On paper, the Russian president appears to own very little. Yet estimates put his hidden wealth well over $100 billion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/world/europe/putin-sanctions-money-assets.html
Archive link - https://archive.ph/csDLM
479 leaked photos purporting to show Putin's secret palace, with an ice rink and pole-dancing room, published by Navalny foundation https://archive.ph/sRVRB