"Tovarich!"

Freedom is a funny thing; if you never had any, you probably won’t miss it, but if you get a taste of it you get hooked on it. I remember my first few weeks in the Army, and I found out what it meant to have limitations on your freedom. Here I was at Fort Benning, Georgia, the hottest place I had ever been up to that point of my life. At 4:30 A.M., I was roused from my bunk by a most irritating sound, a baton being banged against a trash can; what a great start to the day! We had what seemed like seconds to shower, shave, dress and be standing in formation, or there would be “consequences”. I was told when to eat, when to sleep and when I could go to the washroom; there were no options, or opinions allowed, except those muttered under your breath. My time in the service gave me a great desire for individual freedom; I really appreciated being able to express my opinion after not being allowed to have one.

Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they made free speech our 1^st amendment; I really like it! All of our other rights are connected to that “No.1 Right”, and without that right, we could easily be in danger of losing all the rest. We must be very wary of any proposed ordinance or legislation that proposes limitations on our right to free speech.

Last week, I read an article about my old friend, Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin now sits in the Kremlin as President of Russia, once again. Since his recent election, there have been some rumblings of discord from those who don’t support the old KGB Chief, and Mr. Putin doesn’t like that.

The article I read said new “draconian” fines have been proposed for those who protest currently instituted policies from Putin’s new administration. Fines have been increased 200% for infractions committed by protestors; Mr. Putin is now beginning his CRACKDOWN on free speech in Russia.

The new proposed legislation has been demonstrated against by the Yabloko Party, and several dissidents were rounded up by police. I saw no reports of any violence or criminal acts being perpetrated by the opposing demonstrators; unlike America, where some protestors of the OCCUPY movement who threw feces and openly assaulted American police officers. It was only in the case of open assault and criminal activity that warranted arrests in those OCCUPY protests, otherwise they were free to protest in a peaceful manner.

Russia has had a republic for a relatively short time, and all the “kinks” in this new type of government haven’t been completely worked out. There are some old “hard liners” who still subscribe to the ways of the old Soviet Union, and would happily embrace a return to government control of everything, being told where to work, when to work and what was correct speech from the citizens. I believe Mr. Putin, under his blue suit, still wears a KGB heart and a desire to bring Russia back to the days of the Soviet Gulag, and newspapers controlled by the party.

I have several Russian readers, and I appreciate them very much. Please, my friends; guard your speech rights dearly; once they are gone, you are left with very little recourse in self government. I stand for you in your quest to maintain your freedom; good luck “Tovarich”!