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Mr. Medvedev, I feel your pain
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And you...I mean, wow. You finish law school at St. Petersburg, get into politics, Putin puts you on the fast track and next thing you know, you're president. And you think , hey, maybe things have changed. And you came right out and said it yourself when you became president -- there must be rule of law. There must be an independent judiciary.
But, I gotta tell ya…from here, it sure doesn't look like it. You have some serious image problems. For starters, you can't go around killing human rights activists and journalists. It makes Russia look like a banana republic.
I know YOU aren't killing people, but hey…it's happening. And if you the President, the most powerful man in Russia, can't get a handle on things, then who can?
And that stuff in Chechnya. What? Is it human rights activists season down there? Is there some kind of contest going on that we don't know about? Look I realize you inherited the situation and that Ramzan Kadyrov is Putin's junkyard dog, but he's making you look bad. You can't kill human rights activists every week. It just doesn't look good. And killing journalists….? Buddy, that is SUCH a bad idea. Journalists stick together. It's like this big exclusive club. They look out for each other and they have access to the global media. And fine, it might not be big news in Russia, but out here, where there is a free media, I gotta tell ya, it doesn't look good.
Look, I'm not blaming you. I understand. Old KGB habits are hard to break. But this is the new century. Those guys belong to the past. Yes I know, it can't be easy with Putin looking over your shoulder 24/7, but this is your time, your moment in the sun. You have a choice to make. Clean house or die trying. But it won't be easy.
The best advice I can give you is two words: Las Vegas.
Las Vegas used to be a mob town. Run by the mob, their playground, their rules. People disappeared all the time. But rule of law changed that. Eventually, the mob just couldn't get away with their crap anymore. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. And today, Las Vegas is not just a fun, family friendly destination. It's not a bad place to live either. Just like Russia can be.
You can do it.
