Vladimir Putin

I recently encountered a site called Russian Blog. Interesting stuff and (needless to say) very Russian. Looking at a post on President Vladimir Putin, I took the opportunity to ask a question about which I had wondered on this blog. Here is the exchange below:

John Walter said...
Sometimes Vladimir Putin seems to be remarkably ill informed. There were his comments in February when he criticized President Bush for "firing" Dan Rather, and his comments this week when he lectured reporters about African Cannibalism. Is he excessively isolated, poorly briefed, or what?

Anonymous said...
It is just a way to suppress an opponent with some contrargument [sic] that would get him/her (an opponent) confused and prevent him/her from continuing discussing an inconvenient subject.

Now, in American politics, that would seem like a seriously dumb idea-- spewing nonsensical nonsequitors in response to pointed criticism. So... are Putin's remarks a well-honored tactic in Russian political discourse, or is Mr. Anonymous full of borsch?

Note to self: check on Russian Blog from time to time to get a handle on how those guys work.