Vladimir Putin Quotes
We have made mistakes! We were too late. If we had presented our national interests more clearly from the beginning, the world would still be in balance today.
Putin, Vladimir. "Interview to German Newspaper Bild." President of Russia, 11 Jan. 2016.
This quotation illustrates White’s extreme naivety about Stalinist Russia. At the time the Soviet Union had been backing communist insurgencies blatantly in China, Greece, and Korea for example. Most historians agree that White passed classified information to the Russians. He was accused of being a Communist, but there was never any evidence of that. Some people believe that he was a spy for the Russians and committed espionage, but others disagree observing that White was very much his own man and felt that much information that was classified never should have been. White substituted his own judgment, it is believed, about what could be given to the Russians. He was an admirer of what Russian socialism had accomplished economically, educationally and medically since the 1917 revolution deposing the Czar. Russia had been a valuable military ally, which had taken the brunt of both military and civilian casualties in WWII. White’s economics were certainly not Marxist but very much Keynesian. He was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee where he was accused of being a Communist which he denied (see {634907}). He died of a heart attack 3 days later.
This is a view with which most diplomats and foreign policy strategist do not agree. They point to Hitler in WWII where Nazi Germany had enormous power but brought themselves to ruin via terrible strategic decisions that Hitler made. Declaring war on the United States, Invading Russia, and not developing nuclear weapons are 3 of the worst. Many argue that the United States strategy in invading Iraq and diverting resources from Afghanistan was a poor strategic decision.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is serving as the current president of Russia since 2012, previously being in the office from 1999 until 2008. He was also prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. As of 2021, Putin is the second-longest serving European president, after Alexander Lukashenko.
