Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin penned an open letter to the people of the United States, and printed in the New York Times. In it, he took American leaders to task over the issue of ‘American exceptionalism’ among other critiques. As an exercise in diplomacy it had limited value; as yet another means to tweak American noses – which seems to be Putin’s raison d’etre – we say well played.

Much in the model of the Cold War where he learned his managerial techniques at the KGB, Mr. Putin turned two blind eyes to the many troubles his nation is facing, some of them of his own making. This, it seems, provides a great opportunity to return the favor in the same spirit as it was given. The PuckBuddys, working with contributor AnonymousHockeyGuy, offer this open letter to Mr. Putin.