Originally Posted by
chico2663
On one occasion when Clinton suggested a power-hungry Putin was trying to recreate the Soviet Union, "they lit up over that," McFaul recalls, citing meetings with high-level Russian officials. "I was ambassador at the time, and they were livid with her."
Clinton was especially critical of Putin's role in Russia's parliamentary elections in 2011, suggesting they were rigged to favor his political party and Putin's own effort to consolidate power. At a gathering of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Lithuania that December, Clinton called for an investigation into election "fraud" and criticized what she said were growing restrictions on democracy and human rights.
"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted" Clinton said. "And that means they deserve fair, free, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them."
Later, Putin publicly fumed that Clinton personally spearheaded an Obama administration effort to undermine the legitimacy of the 2011 election and to empower a fast-growing opposition movement. He even accused her of giving protesters a hidden signal to protesters massing in Moscow with the support of the U.S. government.
"I think he genuinely believes that she was trying to meddle in his election and therefore he thinks he can do what he is doing now," if Russia is conclusively tied to the DNC hack, said Evelyn Farkas, who was the Pentagon's top official overseeing military relations with Russia until last September. "It's another example of Russia saying they don't have to abide by the rules, and that they can directly influence elections" in the United States.