Bitcoin Forum

Alik Bakhshi

Trump on Putin's Hook

The article on the Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki was written on July 29, 2018, during Trump's first term (1), and today, Trump's decision regarding Ukraine, which essentially encourages the aggressor, convincingly demonstrates which of the Trump-Putin pair is the boa constrictor and which is the rabbit.

Alik Bakhshi

Helsinki: The Boa and the Rabbit

Rabbit:
"Your hypnosis is our fear.
Our fear is your hypnosis."
                Fazil Iskander, "Rabbits and Boas"

                               
          The press conference between Putin and Trump following their tête-à-tête in Helsinki brought to mind Fazil Iskander's parable, "Rabbits and Boas." The American president appeared in my mind as a meek rabbit, stupefied by a boa constrictor. Where had Trump's bravura arrogance and bluster gone? At one point, it seemed as if Trump was silently opening his mouth, while Putin answered the questions for him. Trump obsequiously echoed everything his political rival said, despite the serious and fundamental political differences that had prompted the long-awaited summit meeting. I don't know the details of their private conversation or what Trump looked like during it, but judging by his demeanor at the press conference, I imagine he sat there, like a rabbit, his pupils dilated, meekly under the gaze of Putin's small, piercing eyes, afraid to contradict the words: "We held the referendum in strict accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. For us, the Russian Federation, this matter is closed. That's it!"

     If I were Trump, I would have found a response and reminded Putin that Moscow has extensive experience holding referendums, for example in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia in 1940. Then, as in Crimea, the Russians first sent troops, followed by referendums in which the peoples of these countries "voluntarily" expressed their desire to join the USSR. However, it's possible that Trump is unaware of this fact. I wonder how Putin would respond if Azerbaijan, following Crimea's example, sent troops into Dagestan and held a referendum on voluntary accession to Azerbaijan on the grounds that the Derbent Khanate was part of Azerbaijan?

      At the press conference, the American president was afraid to even utter the words "Ukraine" and "Crimea." Yet the main reason for the anti-Russian sanctions is Russia's aggression against Ukraine, a country whose independence, incidentally, President Trump's country is the guarantor of. One can't help but wonder: why did Trump even fly to Helsinki? Was it really just to nod his head in agreement with Putin's words, "the matter is closed for us?"
    It seems Putin really does have dirt on Trump (1). How else can one explain his complete unanimity with Putin that Russia did not interfere in the American elections, contrary to the assurances of American intelligence agencies? However, far from Putin, already in America, Trump publicly disavowed his statements; to put it simply, he retracted everything he said at the Helsinki press conference in Putin's presence.

Fazil Iskander's rabbit was right, if in our case between Trump and Putin, we replace "fear" with "dirt."

----------------------

Who do you think has dirt on whom from the photo?
 
Putin's secret smile reveals the thought: remember, I've got you on the hook.

1. Helsinki: The Boa Constrictor and the Rabbit. https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/39575.html
2. Putin's Hand in the White House. https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/124179.html

November 22, 2025

Original with photo https://alikbahshi.livejournal.com/144008.html
 

I think the American president isn't being fair and proactive considering how sensitive and urgent this situation is, perhaps there has never been any American president who has condescended so low to becoming a stooge to any Russian leader and that's what the situation seems like with the US leader.

The people of Ukraine are suffering today as a result of their trust in America whom has been a long standing ally from several decades but right now it seems the Americans have abandoned the Ukrainian state  due to the uncertainty of the US president inability to put more pressure on the Russian president to decease from further aggression against Ukraine.