The Ukrainians grow lots of wheat,
But for fuel they are still on the teat;
Russia sells them their gas
And they’ll sure kick their ass,
If their payments they’re failing to meet.
On the vast fertile plains of Ukraine,
They grow great gobs of glorious grain,
And this grain it could feed
A great army indeed,
But such thoughts, they are rather insane.
The great hero, the Rus – Vladimir,
He is quirky but clearly not queer,
He may take off his shirt
As he plays in the dirt,
But at all times he covers his rear.
As the readers are getting quite sick,
Of each Tartar inspired limerick,
I will just have to cease
And restoreth the peace,
For ‘tis clear that I get on their wick.
dnobrienpoetry 
No, I’m not tired of your limericks; just tired of Putin. It was obvious what kind of person after his first stint as president (?) when he wasn’t eligible to run again and put in a puppet and placed himself in a different position as the power.
I recently read the “Gulag Archipelago” and if you haven’t read it I’d recommend it. I think it gives an insight into the unique problems of Russia and of course the former USSR. I’m not sure a standard democracy is going to work there for some time yet (do they work perfectly anywhere?) after the terrible bruising their collective psyche has endured – maybe Putin feels the same – I don’t know. He is certainly not keen on Russia having a social democratic system as exists in most western countries and which he perceives as weak and leading to social chaos. Whether he is a rogue or a patriotic pragmatist I’m not sure, but certainly the blameless West is painting him as a thug – maybe he is. Two sides to every story I guess.