From @vkaramurza -- a strong condemnation of the nonsense that @SenJohnMcCain was a "Russophobe": "Those of us who live in authoritarian states, under tyrannical and repressive regimes -- unfortunately over the years, we've gotten used to many western political leaders ... /1
... who pay lip service to human rights, to human freedoms, who speak nice words -- but then find it perfectly within themselves to do business with the tyrants and the kleptocrats and the authoritarians... John McCain was never like that... /2
... One of the things that defined him most was of course that he always spoke the truth... Always stood up for what is right. He didn't just pay lip service to his values. He lived by them. He believed in them. He stood on them.... /4
... One of the biggest lies propagated by Russian state media was always that John McCain was an enemy of Russia. He was never an enemy of Russia. He was an enemy of the crooks and the kleptocrats and the criminals who are misruling Russia ... /4
... that are stealing from the people of Russia, that are denying the people of Russia the basic rights and freedoms. He was an avowed and committed enemy of that -- /5
-- but he was never an enemy of the Russian people. He was the biggest and most committed supporter of the freedom and dignity and rights of Russian people." /6
