Monday, June 07, 2004

Sound of Silence: Amid all the gushing over Ronald Reagan, The Washington Post ran an interesting article today covering Russia's reaction to the death of our famous leader.

While the Russian activists who tried to bring down the Soviet Union's tyrannical regime in the 1980s spoke highly of Reagan, many Russians were less admiring. The article reports that many people there, about 70 percent, are still bummed that their country is no longer a super power.

But what surprised me is that Russian President Vladimir Putin has remained neutral and issued no statement on Reagan's death. It's customary for all foreign heads of state to give some courteous statement to say at least that the recently deceased was an honorable person. Even some of Reagan's political opponents, like Mikhail Gorbachev and Ted Kennedy, offered their condolences and praise.

Putin's silence says a lot about the current situation in Russia. The Cold War may be over, but we still have to deal with Russia's cold shoulder. Hopefully that bitterness can be kept at bay while we continue to spread democracy and freedom to new parts of the world.