Quote of the Day: A Young Putin Warns the Older Putin About Authoritarianism

“We all think,in a way, that if only there was a firm hand to provide order, we would all live better, more comfortably, and in safety. [But], in fact, this comfort would be short-lived because this firm hand will be tight and very quickly strangle us and … it will be instantly felt by every person, then in every family.”

Vladimir Putin, 1996

Slate Magazine cited this old quote from a younger Putin in an incisive article by Ben Judah that appeared today about Russia’s slide into authoritarianism and now towards totalitarianism.

It might be nice if today’s Putin would listen to his younger self.