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The Week In News
The Week In News
Putin “Wins” Big The news was no surprise to any. In fact, it was predicted with utmost certainty. This week, on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was reelected to another
MARCH 22, 2018 | The Jewish Home
six years as Russia’s president, garnering a whopping 76 percent of the vote. Putin told cheering supporters in a brief speech that lasted a mere two minutes that “we are bound for success.” This was Putin’s fourth electoral contest, but no one thought he would lose. He faced seven minor candidates and had his most prominent possible contender, Alexei Navalny, blocked from the ballot. Widespread ballot-box stuffing and forced voting – citizens being told they need to vote at a certain time and show proof of their vote – were reported, but claims to that effect will undoubtedly be swept under the rug. We are, after all, dealing with the longest-serving leader in the
nation since Josef Stalin. And we know what happened to those who opposed him. Since he took the helm in Russia on New Year’s Eve 1999 after Boris Yeltsin’s surprise resignation, Putin’s electoral power has centered on stability, a quality cherished by Russians after the chaotic breakup of the Soviet Union and the “wild capitalism” of the Yeltsin years. Stability, though, comes at a price. Any dissent or opposition is crushed. Putin ran in the 2000, 2004 and 2012 elections. He did not run in 2008 because of term limits but was appointed prime minister instead – a different title, although he essentially maintained the same role.
The election came amid escalating tensions with the West, with reports that Moscow was behind the nerve-agent poisoning this month of a former Russian double agent in Britain and that its internet trolls had waged an extensive campaign to undermine the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Britain and Russia last week announced expulsions of diplomats over the spy case and the U.S. issued new sanctions. The election also took place on the fourth anniversary of the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, one of the most dramatic manifestations of Putin’s drive to reassert Russia’s power. The next six years will likely see Putin flexing more of his muscles – literally and figuratively. Just a few weeks ago, he announced that Russia had developed advanced nuclear weapons capable of evading missile defenses. The Russian military campaign that bolsters the Syrian government is clearly aimed at strengthening Moscow’s foothold in the Middle East, and Russia eagerly eyes any reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula as an economic opportunity.
A Shrine for a Missile
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Hwasong-15 is the first missile built by North Korea that, according to the regime, can hit anywhere in the United States. Now it seems that North Korea is not content to celebrate the fact that it can pulverize a nation. The Hermit Kingdom is building a shrine around the missile launch site to further deify the weapon. Analysts were able to pinpoint the location of the site and then noticed a flurry of activity around the missile. For one month North Koreans worked nonstop, building a parking area, a reconstructed launching pad and a large memorial. North Korea’s other celebrations for the Hwasong-15 have included an event honoring the missile scientists in the nation’s capital, the issuing of a commemorative stamp and the holding of a giant indoor concert featuring a polished film of the liftoff punctuated with fireworks and a light show. The official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim Jong-un, the nation’s leader, as declaring shortly after the successful launching, “We have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force.”