The "Return" of Rasputin

Surprise surprise, but "interim" Russian President Dimitri Medvedev is stepping down.  And golly gee, guess who's gonna "replace" him?  And guess who's gonna be Prime Minister again?

And now with two, six year term limits, old Rasputin, will likely be in power for 12 years.  And maybe he'll have term limits dropped altogether so he becomes a dictator again.  Wouldn't surprise me.

With the Russian language and influence continuing to dominate Eastern Ukraine, let alone "former" Soviet republics, and the Kremlin's ability to turn on and off oil and gas taps at will, Russia will surely continue to dominate with even more vigour than before over much of Asia.

I'll never forget what one of my distant cousins in Ukraine wrote me back in 1991 after Ukraine gained "independence" from Russia (paraphrasing):  "It's amazing how all these former communists are now all of sudden so-called pro-democrats.  Nothing has really changed."

If anyone in the democratic world ever believed that former KGB boss Vladimir Putin was all pro-democracy, foreign policy-friendly, and pro-capitalist, they need to have their head examined.

The return of Rasputin is upon us.

How will this affect Canada?  Well, with Russians continually pushing their military and claim in the disputed Arctic, possibly into Canadian waters, it's only going to get worse under more Putin rule.  

And gee, you wonder why one of the first things Prime Minister Harper did in 2006 was push for more Canadian military presence in the North and continues to do so?

"Oh those Russians"