Putin and the Pope

In December of 2013, Putin met with Pope Francis. Putin disrespected the Pope by showing up 50 minutes late, which is a standard trick inherited from the Stalin era that Putin uses on everybody to humiliate and dominate.

Shortly after his meeting with the Pope, Putin started a war with Ukraine.

In spite of all this and of Putin’s constant bashing of Catholics, Pope Frances agreed to meet him.

This Pope is a total weirdo. There are tons of Catholics in Ukraine and he’s spitting in their faces like this, and for what? Just to let Putin use him as a propaganda device? What an idiot. Catholics just can’t catch a break with their leadership.

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Interesting account of when Putin met Merkel, and the mind games he played:

When Putin and Merkel meet, they sometimes speak in German (he’s better in her language than she is in his), and Putin corrects his own interpreter to let Merkel know that nothing is lost on him. Putin’s brand of macho elicits in Merkel a kind of scientific empathy. In 2007, during discussions about energy supplies at the Russian President’s residence in Sochi, Putin summoned his black Lab, Koni, into the room where he and Merkel were seated. As the dog approached and sniffed her, Merkel froze, visibly frightened. She’d been bitten once, in 1995, and her fear of dogs couldn’t have escaped Putin, who sat back and enjoyed the moment, legs spread wide. “I’m sure it will behave itself,” he said. Merkel had the presence of mind to reply, in Russian, “It doesn’t eat journalists, after all.” The German press corps was furious on her behalf—“ready to hit Putin,” according to a reporter who was present. Later, Merkel interpreted Putin’s behavior. “I understand why he has to do this—to prove he’s a man,” she told a group of reporters. “He’s afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this.”

Link:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german

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