REUTERS reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, won the presidency in a record post-Soviet landslide yesterday (3/17/2024), cementing his grip on power and claiming that the election shows that he was correct in standing up to the West and sending Russian troops into Ukraine.
Putin (71) now embarks on a new six-year term that could see him overtake Josef Stalin, becoming Russia’s longest-serving leader in more than 200 years. Putin reportedly won 87.8% of the vote, the largest margin of victory ever in Russia’s post-Soviet history – although the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom (among other nations) declared that the vote was neither free nor fair due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.
The REUTERS article may be read HERE.
The Russian “election” serves as a reminder of who Putin is and what he represents (read: Soviet-style communism, dictatorial leadership, and anti-Christ government).
Putin is now free – so to speak – to continue murdering the men, women and children of Ukraine, and to recklessly continue threatening Western nations (and NATO specifically) with nuclear attack, so long as he continues to wield sufficient power to intimidate the country’s military and governmental leaders, as well as the Russian citizens.
Any actual opposition to his leadership has been historically met with the death of those who oppose him – as most recently manifested by the highly questionable death of the primary opposition candidate, Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison last month.
If Russia’s own military, government and civilian leaders can’t or won’t do something to remove Putin from power, the world may have to deal with him for many more years to come.
This writer has long reminded readers that we are now 78 years beyond the conclusion of WWII, in which the former Soviet Union (1922-1991), for whom Putin served as a KGB officer, took action against its former allies (e.g., United States, Britain, France) by dividing Berlin and creating what was known as the Iron Curtain in Europe – separating the communist rule of the former Soviet Union from the freedom found in Western nations.
Unbelievably, the world still faces the same ideology and threats as it did then, to a large degree because of Russian President Vladimir Putin; however, it’s sad to note that many persons now seem to “poo poo” this concern as “old news.”
Could this be because our schools simply no longer teach the importance of freedom, or the fear of God demonstrated by our founders and evidenced within our constitutional documents, or the incredible bravery of the men and women who fought in WWII, or the truth of how allied nations (and America in particular) rebuilt even our enemy’s countries following WWII, or the resulting international agreements including the establishment of the state of Israel as a blessing to the Jews (of whom millions were slaughtered by Germany as part of the Holocaust)?
Sadly, the former USSR (now seemingly revived in Russia) chose to fight against the West in what was known as The Cold War. Not that many years ago, American school children practiced actions to take in the event of nuclear attack and cities had public bomb shelters (with posted sings denoting the locations of the such shelters) throughout communities.
Perhaps the “price” of freedom, at least in one sense, is the risk of forgetting the past, thereby causing subsequent generations to repeat the mistakes of the past instead learning from them.
Inaction is still an action. Not making a decision is still making a decision. Looking the other way is still making a choice. May God give us the eyes and ears to see, hear and to know His will in our lives. May godly wisdom and love rule our hearts. May we all come to know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. After all, one thing will never change. The answer to our problems was, is and shall always be, Jesus!
Trusting in the Lord brings blessing, direction, provision, wisdom and peace:
Psalm 33:12 (KJV)
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom [H]e hath chosen for [H]is own inheritance.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, [a]nd lean not on your own understanding; [i]n all your ways acknowledge Him, [a]nd He shall direct your paths.”
Those who willfully murder and call evil good or good evil, will suffer the consequences:
Isaiah 5:20 (NKJV)
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; [w]ho put darkness for light, and light for darkness; [w]ho put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
But, praise God, Jesus has made a way for all to be saved and to have eternal life in the very presence of God Almighty – if we will only humble ourselves:
John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him [emphasis mine] might be saved.”
John 14:6 (NKJV)
“Jesus said to [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Praise Jesus forevermore!