This was the time when Vladimir Putin stepped up to lead the country.
"Putin is absolutely Russian, and his style of leadership draws from the vibrant and unique history of his country. However, some key aspects of his leadership style are not foreign to the United States. Two leaders, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, could certainly be described as 'Putinists,' if such a thing as 'Putinism' exists," Maupin emphasized in his article for New Eastern Outlook.
Furthermore, "between 2007 and 2014, the Russian Gross Domestic Product increased from $764 billion to $2096.8 billion," the analyst noted.
In much the same spirit, in the mid-1800s Abraham Lincoln mobilized the country to fight against the slave-owners and restore economic and political order.
"Both the Russian oligarchs who oppose Putin and the slaveholders who opposed Lincoln had a powerful ally: Wall Street," the US journalist remarked.
Like Putin, Abraham Lincoln was not a Marxist or a socialist, but he was highly critical of capitalists who refused and were unwilling to shoulder the burden of social and financial responsibility.
On the other hand, Putin's style of management has much in common with that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States.
"In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office, much like Putin, with his country in a state of economic ruin, reeling from the after-effects of the 1929 stock-market crash… Like Putin, Roosevelt mobilized the government sector to rescue the economy. Roosevelt passed the Glass-Steagall Act, preventing bankers from gambling with other people's money. Roosevelt began heavily taxing the wealthiest people in the United States, using the funds to hire the unemployed," Maupin elaborated.
Today Vladimir Putin is leading the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. However, Russia's involvement in Syria is not supported by Washington political elite who have been waging its "perpetual" war on terror in the Middle East for decades.
"The reality is that the wealthy ruling class of the United States has no interest in defeating ISIS [ISIL]. The real objective of US policy in Syria since long before 2011 has always been to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic, a stable, anti-imperialist country with a heavily planned economy," Maupin explained.
The Islamic State originated as a faction of the anti-government terrorists who were funded by the United States and Gulf monarchies.
Washington's anti-ISIL airstrikes have been "virtually meaningless" and completely ineffective. Moreover, they were launched without the permission of the Syrian government — the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
In contrast, Russia stepped in in response to the official request of Damascus and therefore its involvement in Syrian affairs cannot be called "intervention." The Russian Air Force is assisting the Syrian Arab Army "as it battles a barrage of foreign terrorists, imported to their country with the help of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, France, Britain, and the United States."
"Putin is a leader who is rallying the world around the battle to improve peoples' livelihoods, defeat terrorism, and stand up to the source of so much evil, the wealthy global banking elite," Maupin stressed.
And such qualities of leadership demonstrated by Vladimir Putin are "not foreign" to the US, the political analyst remarked, adding that he hopes that those qualities emerge in America in some form once again.
"Another leader of the caliber of Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Putin is desperately needed in the United States," he emphasized.
