Make up your own mind about it. Carlson of course knows little about contemporary Russia and Putin, but the interview is worth watching. Putin of course lied his way through it, and Carlson almost never called him on it. Putin’s target was those in America weary of supporting Ukraine. The idea that he is interested in negotiation on Ukraine is risible. Carlson didn’t call him on anything effectively, because Carlson is not a journalist but a paleocon isolationist, or at least he plays one on TV, who accepts at face value the lies of Putin in order to have America ignore the threat he poses to Ukraine and the Baltic Republics. However any time you can watch your enemy answer questions, even mendaciously, for two hours is something not to miss.
The palaeo / alt-right attitude toward Russia is one more reason, in case you needed one, to not take those of either sort particularly seriously.
Russia would benefit from a political class satisfied with the 6 million sq miles of territory they have now, which would confine their irredentist claims to some border bits, which would have drily practical aims in foreign affairs, and which could learn to catch their flies with honey. Putin is not that guy. The one saving grace is that the Russian military, push comes to shove, has a very limited coercive capacity at this time.
The Russian invasion into Ukraine was wrong. Putin is a murderous thug. Equally, the Ukrainian govt is corrupt and Zelenskyy is a pro-abort, pro-gay marriage lackey to the West. The real victims are the Russian soldier boys being ordered to their deaths, and the Ukrainian women and children caught in the cross-fire. And I don’t think Putin, Biden, Zelenskyy, or anyone else gives a damn about them. This war between Ukraine and Russia is fratricide. And while I am no historian like Donald, I think they have been at conflict with each other for centuries, with Russia usually being the big brother bully.
The interview was fascinating, and I may watch it again. Of course, Putin’s idea of what’s true is shall we say, elastic, but we could say the same about most of our elites.
I’d be interested to know if the preliminary accord Russia and Ukraine hammered out in Istanbul— the one Putin said was scrapped at the behest of the western powers, specifically the UK’s Boris Johnson, happened as he described.
At least Putin could hold a coherent two-hour conversation with a journalist. Just imagine Biden in the same position…
Most of what Putin says is probably more lying than delusion, but his comments on the dollar ring true (although I’m sure his reasons for saying them are more self-serving than altruistic). Weaponizing the dollar made the whole world realize that our money isn’t ours … That we use it at the US government’s pleasure. (Digital currency will make this even worse). Huge mistake, but in the puppet masters’ view, bailing out all those banks in 2008 is paying big dividends. Several oil-rich middle eastern countries have already begun exploring Chinese currency as an alternative.
Chinese currency is a joke. There is not and will not be an alternative to the US dollar no matter how i flated it is.
Carlson is a fraud. Carlson was the first to start the Covid alarmist nonsense. Carlson clearly said that he supported Putin and Russia in this war. Carlson has deliberately misled his viewers about the situation of the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine. The UOC MP were spies for Russia.
Peter Ziehan has a consistent take on Russia. It is falling off of a demographic cliff. It wants Ukraine’s resources for its own, and its people as well.
There are Ukrainian refugees in Poland..I have no knowledge of how many. The new Polish PM yanked off the air much of TVP coverage of the war in English..Donald Tisk got 30% of the vote and runs the government thaks to parlimentary coalitions that will one day crumble because he is a German lackey. However, I am sure “journalist” Carlson never asked Putin why he stll has the wrecked Polish jet on which more than 100 Poles died in Smolensk in 2010.
Putin has run Russia for 25 years and will leave power feet first.