Learn what will happen during the tribulation period from beginning to end
Your comments and questions are always welcome. To send comments and questions please click here to go to our main page. January 5th, 2000 An end of an era has come in Russia, and it came as little surprise to me. Boris Yeltzin, Soviet President throughout most of the 90's has resigned. In the midst of allegations of massive corruption within his inner-circle and reports that his health was failing, President Yeltzin sadly announced his resignation on Friday, December 31st, 1999. "The president said Russia needed to enter the next century with "new politicians [and] new faces." And first among them, he made it clear, was his current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, who in his five months in office has ridden a vicious war in the breakaway region of Chechnya to widespread popularity. Putin will function as acting president for three months, in accordance with the Russian Constitution. New presidential elections will be held on March 26, three months ahead of schedule. "I have no doubt," Yeltsin said in endorsing Putin, "what choice you will make." Most believe that Yeltzin chose Putin as his successor due to an agreement that he and his family would be granted full immunity of any wrong doing that may have occurred during his time in office. It has been alleged that Former President Yeltzin has millions stashed away in foreign bank accounts under the names of close associates and businessmen. But who is Vladimir Putin? What is known about him? Will he continue to push forward the democratic philosophy that Boris Yeltzin began a decade ago or is the slide back to communism just a matter of time? "Is Vladimir Putin at heart a democrat, a trustworthy custodian of Russia's newly won civil liberties? Or is he what Russians call a "Chekist," a true believer in the ways of the secret police? Putin's biography is sufficiently sinister to ensure that the scrutiny will be intense. Born in St. Petersburg in 1952, he graduated from a law academy there and signed on immediately with the KGB. He spent years in East Berlin, engaged mostly in political espionage. Smart and hardworking, he made lieutenant colonel in the KGB and retired with that rank in the late 1980s. In 1990, he joined the staff of St. Petersburg's first democratically elected mayor. It was common practice back then for KGB helpers to infiltrate new civic bodies in order to glean information and influence events. Whether that was Putin's role is not clear. What is undeniable is that as he moved up the chain of command in St. Petersburg, he impressed people. Anatoly Chubais, a former deputy prime minister and market reformer, says Putin had no trouble grasping economic complexities that left other Soviet-era apparatchiks befuddled. Even some prominent human-rights activists from the Soviet era are willing to give Putin the benefit of the doubt. "People learn and change," says Larisa Bogoraz, who served seven years in Siberia for "anti-Soviet activity." "We all know democrats who turned out to be criminals. So there may be KGB officers with understanding of democratic values." In his first speech as acting president, Putin insisted there would be no backsliding on any of the key political liberties won in Russia's decade of democracy. "Freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press, the right to private property-these basic principles of a civilized society will be protected," he said. Those were the right words; but at the same time there is no doubt that Vladimir Putin is proud of his past. Last month at a party celebrating the 25th wedding anniversary of a former FSB chief, Yevgeny Primakov-a former prime minister and KGB alumnus-proposed a toast. "Those of us who consider ourselves Chekists, stand up," Primakov said proudly. Nearly everyone got to his feet-Russia's new president included." Granted, I'm not a prophet, but this is what I see for the year 2000. Russia will return to their old communist roots, although it may not be official. Eventually, they will return to communism in full strength. They will also form a stronger alliance with the Arab block nations, leading to what I believe will be the beginning stages of the Russian/Arab attack prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39. Vladimir Putin is a wolf in sheep's clothing and his only agenda is to bring back a police state to Russia. One of his first actions as president was to clean house of the previous administration, which included firing the former president's daughter. It's only a matter of time before the communist philosophy is in full swing and Russia returns to its former Soviet Union. Will it happen in the year 2000? Only God knows and His timing will bring about the truth. But one thing's for sure, the prophecies of the Bible will be carried out to the last detail in its time. I believe that time is very close even at the door. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Some quotes were taken from this site: (http://www.newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/now/a47000-2000jan2.htm) Pastor Malone