Germany honours (former KGB spy) Vladimir Putin with prestigious prize

"It must be admitted that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century"
Vladimir Putin, German Quadriga Prize laureate


Another day, another sign of the sad reality of contemporary Germany:

Vladmir Putin, Russia´s autocratic ruler and former third rate KGB spy, is to receive one of the most prestigious German awards, the Quadriga prize.

The award, which is given by a Berlin-based organization called Werkstatt Deutschland, honors "personalities and projects whose thoughts and acts are built on values," according to its website. Recipients are "role models who are committed to enlightenment, commitment and welfare."

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which obtained internal documents relating to the prize, the Quadriga Prize committee wrote of Putin that he possesses "calculability paired with staying power," and that he has created stability for Russia "through the interplay of prosperity, economics and identity."

Fortunately there are some sane voices in Germany, who are not pleased with the choice of Putin, although it is too late to do anything about it:

Ruprecht Polenz, the chairman of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, said that while Putin may have helped his country to advance economically, the same did not hold true for democracy and human rights.
"I don't think it is a good idea," Polenz told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. "Putin has only further developed Russia economically. He hasn't pushed things forward in terms of the rule of law or human rights." Polenz said he saw no effort on Putin's part to halt disturbing developments "that even President Dmitry Medvedev has described as legal nihilism."
"One could ironically suggest that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who described Putin as a 'flawless democrat,' give the laudatory speech," Polenz added. Schröder maintained very close ties to Putin. After leaving office as chancellor, Schröder became a member of the board for a gas pipeline project that will deliver Russian gas directly to Germany.

Read the entire Der Spiegel article here

Herr Polenz credits Putin for advancing his country economically. But even that is not true. On the contrary, the only people Putin has really advanced and enriched, are the thugs that form his closest circle of allies.

Shame on Germany for rewarding one of the worst autocrats of our time!