Era Quote by Masha Gessen

“The Yeltsin years considerably lowered the bar [of public expectations] for the country’s next leader: Putin’s specific policies and actions arguably matter far less…

— Helena Goscilo

If Putin and those around him had been smart enough to go in a different direction... The country was ready. The conditions were extremely…

— Vladimir Voinovich

“Vladimir Putin shot out of obscurity in 1999 by exploiting growing nostalgia for the USSR, fueled by the disappointment, uncertainty and crisis that brought…

— Gregory Feifer

I've always felt fine about Putin. I think he is a strong leader, he's a powerful leader, he's represented his country the way -…

— Donald Trump

Every time I talk to somebody about Putin, it's like, 'But isn't he vastly popular?' Is that really the most important question? I mean,…

— Masha Gessen

I think that President George W. Bush was ahead of most of his government, in realizing that Putin was not the person we thought…

— Daniel Fried

“Like most regimes not based on genuine popular support in an era of open access to information, Putin’s is inherently unstable and requires vigilant…

— Gregory Feifer

Putin is no different than any other powerful man, like a Senator, or a President.

— Donald Trump

Putin is a former KGB agent. He's a thug. He was not elected in a way that most people would consider a credible election.

— Mitch McConnell

Russia, despite its heavy flirtation with capitalism and some quite unsavory oligarchs, is still building its foreign policy on the Soviet ideals of internationalism,…

— Andre Vltchek

I wouldn't place much stock in numbers. I don't believe that they reflect Putin's true popularity. Just think about how the pollsters proceed. They…

— Garry Kasparov

That's exactly what [Donald] Trump says, Putin is a great leader. We should love Putin. He has a high popular and everybody oh, fine,…

— Eric Bolling