Back in the USSR? – Putin’s Russia may not be as bad as it seems from the West

Back in the USSR?
‘Putin is recreating the Soviet Union as he thinks it should have been,’ says Natan Sharansky’s former Hebrew teacher, ‘without the anti-Semitism.’ ‘I don’t know where Russia would be without him,’ says the Chabad chief rabbi. ‘For the Jews, it’s a miracle’

…And where does Putin fit in to all this? “I believe he brought a lot of change [for the Jewish community and its well-being]. Gorbachev and [first Russian Federation president Boris] Yeltsin changed a lot, but Putin really came out and tackled anti-Semitism. Under Yeltsin [1991-99], if there were anti-Semitic incidents, he said, Ignore it, it will go away. Putin confronted it, head-on. His message is, Don’t harm the Jews. You’ll be arrested and punished. A young boy came into the shul with a knife. He was 17-18. He was jailed for sixteen years.

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/back-in-the-ussr/?utm_source=The+Times+of+Israel+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=fb0bbae2ee-2014_04_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adb46cec92-fb0bbae2ee-54412581

Being a conservative American used to seeing Russians as the bad guys in movies (they still make very good bad guys) I must admit a certain knee-jerk negative reaction to the idea of relocating to Russia. But things are really improving. The crime and disorder of the 1990s has been replaced by civil order and respect for the law. Russia is becoming a very positive place for business with a low corporate tax rate. There is lots of room for improvement, no doubt, but Russia is going in the right direction. I wish we could say the same for the USSA.

What do you guys think?

About fafc

The goal of the “Find a Free Country Project” is to research, explore and find a safe and secure free country outside the USA, that is not too large, has a relatively open immigration policy, has a friendly business climate, has a non-intrusive government committed to freedom, and then move to it.
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3 Responses to Back in the USSR? – Putin’s Russia may not be as bad as it seems from the West

  1. Croatian Capitalist says:

    Yes, even though there are still some issues to be solved (primarily to do with corruption), the situation is a million times better than in the 1990’s, and Russia is generally heading in the right direction (birth/fertility rates are growing, the crime rate get smaller each year, the bureaucracy is getting smaller, the Russian Armed Forces are getting stronger, salaries are getting bigger, tax rates have been lowered, unemployment is low, the middle class is growing, etc.), I believe that Russia will get these issues completely under control within the next 10-20 years, I definitively consider it the best emigration option looking at the long-term, out of the countries which have the potential to be completely self sufficient (Russia, Canada, Brazil, USA and maybe a few other countries), it is the only one which I consider to generally be going in the right direction. Countries such as Switzerland and Estonia for example might be good emigration options, but they are dependent on the outside World economically and would be hard pressed to repel an invasion of a bigger country (especially Estonia), while Russia has more or less every important resource in abundance and it’ can’t be conquered militarily, the Russians could completely cut ties with the rest of the World and live well, while the Swiss and Estonians couldn’t, so I consider Russia to be the best emigration option looking at the long-term.

    • fafc says:

      Yes, I could see how a small country could be overrun by problems if the balance of power changes. My vote on a stable country getting better and better 5 to 6 was Mexico. Then everything fell apart in a very short amount of time. Perhaps there is something to be said for the bigger nations, but focus on the more positive regions. Mexico is a mess at the US border and a few of the internal states, but the other regions are wonderful. Brazil is a huge mess, but the South is actually quite nice and has some promise if the rest of the country doesn’t drag it down into the sewer. There are some nice places in the USA but I fear for the future. Having a little cabin in the woods surrounded by friendly neighbors may not be much use against a paranoid and intrusive government that looks at any lack of support as dangerous opposition that needs to be obliterated. Maybe I read too many sci-fi books.

  2. Croatian Capitalist says:

    Yes, with such big countries, it is better to focus on certain regions, rather than look at the average of the country, since the general situation is way better in Russia in places such as Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tatarstan, etc., than it is in places such as Chechnya or Ingushetia.

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