Russia: Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden: But thats where the Cold War comparison stops. The Snowden decision reflects and is a response to Russias resentment over its post-Cold War status. , according to Times Colonist. And then came Putin. The Russian presidents intentions were obvious the restoration of Russia as a great power holding sway, if not outright domination, over its old Soviet-era empire. Analyst Leon Aron describes the Putin Doctrine in the March edition of Foreign Affairs: After his election as president in 2000, Putin added to his agenda an overarching goal: The recovery of economic, political and geostrategic assets lost by the Soviet state in 1991. The Edward Snowden affair cant help but conjure memories of the Cold War ideological struggle between Russia and the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putins willingness to thumb his nose at U.S. President Barack Obama by granting whistleblower Snowden asylum smacks of the tit-for-tat retaliations that once characterized American relations with the Soviet Union. After the implosion of the Soviet empire in the early 1990s, Russia spiralled downward. With the economy collapsing, the navy rusted out, the air force was practically grounded and even army soldiers had difficulty getting ammunition. Russias borders shrivelled to their 17th-century configuration as countries such as Latvia, Hungary and Ukraine slipped free of the imperial grip. Some joined NATO, making Russias humiliation even more acute. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.