The new Hitler

I always think that if anyone is anywhere close to become Hitlerian, it's the Bushites. True to form, they are pre-empting claims that might be leveled at themselves, and are pointing fingers at Putin. Justin Raimondo comments:

Putin has won the overwhelming support of the Russian people, and his party – "Unity" – dominates the Russian parliament, because he ran on a platform of smashing the "oligarchs" and completing the transition to Western-style democracy (albeit with Russian characteristics). The "privatization" of Russian state assets that took place as the old Soviet system collapsed is seen by many Russians as the Great Rip-Off: politically-connected bureaucrats suddenly transformed themselves into "entrepreneurs" and bought up the economic infrastructure for a mere pittance. Vast fortunes were acquired this way, and then secreted out of the country. Former Communists became the new red billionaires, whose "market" Leninism formed the foundations of the new state capitalism. It was, however, a system founded on corruption, and its consequences are widely resented. Putin rode this wave of resentment, and it propelled him into power, but, unlike other reformers, he actually began to keep at least some of his promises: the oligarchs were summarily targeted, in some cases jailed for theft and fraud, and in other cases forced into exile or marginalized.

[...]

Putin's drive to smash the power of the oligarchs represents Russia's final reckoning with the old Soviet ruling class. It is a push to reclaim stolen wealth and finally break the power of parasites who have been feasting on the Russian body politic since 1917.

Raimondo adds his own cautionary note:

Huge state enterprises are inherently inefficient, as well as corrupt, and while the income generated may be enough to cover up the tremendous waste of resources, it may not be enough to stave off rising social and political discontent for very long. Stability is what Putin has to offer, but if that should begin to break down, or even show signs of stress, his presently unassailable position could be significantly weakened. In re-nationalizing Yukos, Putin is sowing the economic seeds of his own destruction.

Anybody got the answer? I think we're just going round and round. And even carousel rides get boring.