Something you might not have known about Russia: Communism has been banned in Russia since 1991.

Source: “Yeltsin Bans Communist Party,” Jeff Berliner, UPI, 1991. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/11/06/Yeltsin-bans-Communist-Party/1265689403600/

Whatever you think about Vladmir Putin, he is a Christian and friendly to Israel. So is Trump. Obviously Putin is a Russian nationalist (and so is Trump a nationalist), and that might be distasteful to you. But a lot of people still associate Russia with the USSR, and communism. The USSR hasn’t been around since 1989. Here is what the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has to say about John Brennan, former CIA director, Russia, and communism:

“Should former CIA Director Brennan, indeed, intend to seek political asylum in Russia in order to escape a treason trial facing him in the United States...MoFA national security analysts stunningly state they’d strongly encourage President Putin not to grant it—not because of the incendiary bombshell explosion it would create in US-Russia relations—but due to Brennan’s past membership and support of the American Communist Party, and no one being able to explain how he was ever allowed into the CIA in the first place—which is a vital national security issue in Russia where the communists have been outlawed since 1991—and where no tentacles of this deadly and vile political disease that in the past 100 years has killed 100 million people will ever be allowed to infect and kill again.” [emphasis mine]

Source for the last statement about 100 million dead: The Wall Street Journal, “100 Years of Communism, 100 Million Dead,” David Satter, Nov 6, 2017.

Quote Source: http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index2841.htm

When I read this I was astounded. I grew up in the Cold War where Russia was synonymous with the Soviet Union. To most people who are older than 40, Russia=Communism=tyranny.

It was shocking to me to read the visceral contempt and dislike of the Russians for Communism. For many Americans, Russia and Communism are synonymous. But that hasn't been true since 1991, over 28 years ago.

 We know that Trump is a Christian and Putin is a Christian. The US is still (nominally) a Christian country. Russia is Eastern Orthodox Christian. Both men have stated publicly, more than once, their intent to have good relations between the two countries. If the US has an enemy, it certainly isn’t Russia. It’s China, with its annual $500 billion trade deficit. China is still ruled by the Communist Party, and so is anathema to the Russian and the US governments. It’s probably one reason why Trump has been so dismissive of the Trump-Russia collusion narrative and why he has been so tough on the Chinese.

(To understand why Trump is using tariff hikes against the Chinese Communist Party, listen to this: https://youtu.be/oSjlGNaWPbc)

Here is a tweet from John Brennan after the meeting last year between Putin and Trump in Helsinki:

This viewpoint was reflected all over American media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and almost all of the other major media.

This is what the Russians said about it: “How could a man who admitted voting for the communist party candidate, first of all get a job in the CIA, then become director of the CIA and then once the USSR falls, have a problem with Russia? Who is he to call anybody else treasonous?”

In America we have been bombarded, for the past three years, with the idea that Russia interfered in US elections and is the enemy of the US. But this narrative has been promoted by people like John Brennan. It makes you stop and think what the CIA is up to! Remember that Trump’s very first stop after becoming president was at CIA HQ in Langley. It is instructive to read what he said in that speech.

Trump and Russia are intimately connected, but not in the way we think.

Here’s an example from Newsweek:

DONALD TRUMP SAYS ‘WE ALL HAVE TO GET RID OF’ NUCLEAR WEAPONS; RUSSIA RESPONDS: LET'S MAKE A PLAN

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 4/26/19

“A senior Russian diplomat responded positively to President Donald Trump's remarks regarding his desire to seek total denuclearization, saying Moscow was ready to begin working toward that end. Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity via telephone Thursday night, Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to assist in the U.S.-North Korea peace process. The president said, “We want to get rid of the nuclear weapons,” not just in North Korea, but “we all have to get—Russia has to get rid of them and China has to get rid of them” in comments subsequently supported by Moscow, which had accused Washington of loosening restrictions on its nuclear posture.

“Given the increasing role of nuclear weapons in U.S. doctrine-related documents and their gradual transition to a class of weapons that can be used on the battlefield, such statements can be only welcomed,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday, according to state-run Tass Russian News Agency. Ryabkov then laid out a potential road map toward total disarmament at a time when the two countries appeared more distant than any time in recent history.”

Things are not always as they seem. The media only emphasizes the negative and never the positive, but there are a lot of positive things happening in the world.