Call Me Russian FDR: Putin

Presenting himself as popular US prez to stay in power
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2007 3:43 AM CDT
Call Me Russian FDR: Putin

Vladimir Putin sees himself as Russia's Franklin Delano Roosevelt and is actively encouraging a cult around the Depression-slaying US leader to promote his own ambitions after his current term as president expires. Admiring profiles and documentaries about Roosevelt in the state-controlled media are indoctrinating Russians as Putin maneuvers to stay in power, reports the Washington Post.

Roosevelt, who died in his fourth term, is portrayed in Russia as a heroic figure who battled America's power elite. "Of course it's about the third term, and a fourth, and sure it's organized from the Kremlin," said a Russian political analyst. "Roosevelt is now very popular in Russia." (More Vladimir Putin stories.)

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