When Putin talks about having high speed rail to Donetsk and Luhansk, when this is not even a dream between Sanktpēterburga and Moscow, clearly the man is not in his right mind.
The majority of Russian people desperately hope for an end to war. However, Putin established a new Nouveau-riche class by giving shares of the western firms to Russians beholden to him and the war plus the thousands that feed off of military production. As long as Russian forces see no significant setbacks, they will back the regime.
The possible scenario is a series of setbacks that question the possibility of Russia prevailing in the war. A Novocherkassk incident per week could set the stage for election surprises for the Putin followers. It is quite plausible that this could happen. Under such circumstances neither the nationalists or the liberals would tolerate open cheating. They would want Putin out.
Demands that Putin must pay for the tragic, bloody blunder into Ukraine will resonate with people that will see the extraordinary losses to themselves and to Russia from this senseless war.
Great to hear you voice again, Boris. It does seem that, whoever is in charge, the only sane thing to do in Ukraine is for finally stop the bloody meat-grinder. Could have been done 1 1/2 years ago with the agreement that was being finalized in Turkey.
Of course I know nothing and claim nothing about the actual situation in Russia, which means I am unusually qualified to speak. But looking on from my lunar or Martian outpost, I would have to agree that it doesn't matter whether Putin is alive or has been replaced by a stand-in. The present Putin claims only to be an ex-cop, a dutiful bureaucrat-politician, and a communicant of the Russian Orthodox Church (to my knowledge). The war with the hapless Ukrainians seems to have grounded out, at least for the moment, and the world's horrified attention is focused on Gaza. The US and the rest of the West are having their own serious problems, the occupational hazards of hegemony. Putin might as well be a simulacrum. It's a good time for one. Later this year, the US may turn out to be vulnerable to having its chain rattled and its string pulled, which may be exciting, and the Russians may want a more substantial great hero to take up that part of the play. To us in the West, Russia is still the enigma, etc., the land of Raskolnikov and Rasputin. How does it feel to be an enigma, instead of the malign circus we have in the US?
When Putin talks about having high speed rail to Donetsk and Luhansk, when this is not even a dream between Sanktpēterburga and Moscow, clearly the man is not in his right mind.
The majority of Russian people desperately hope for an end to war. However, Putin established a new Nouveau-riche class by giving shares of the western firms to Russians beholden to him and the war plus the thousands that feed off of military production. As long as Russian forces see no significant setbacks, they will back the regime.
The possible scenario is a series of setbacks that question the possibility of Russia prevailing in the war. A Novocherkassk incident per week could set the stage for election surprises for the Putin followers. It is quite plausible that this could happen. Under such circumstances neither the nationalists or the liberals would tolerate open cheating. They would want Putin out.
Demands that Putin must pay for the tragic, bloody blunder into Ukraine will resonate with people that will see the extraordinary losses to themselves and to Russia from this senseless war.
Great to hear you voice again, Boris. It does seem that, whoever is in charge, the only sane thing to do in Ukraine is for finally stop the bloody meat-grinder. Could have been done 1 1/2 years ago with the agreement that was being finalized in Turkey.
We have crazier things going on within the American Empire: Biden/ Fetterman 2024!
Of course I know nothing and claim nothing about the actual situation in Russia, which means I am unusually qualified to speak. But looking on from my lunar or Martian outpost, I would have to agree that it doesn't matter whether Putin is alive or has been replaced by a stand-in. The present Putin claims only to be an ex-cop, a dutiful bureaucrat-politician, and a communicant of the Russian Orthodox Church (to my knowledge). The war with the hapless Ukrainians seems to have grounded out, at least for the moment, and the world's horrified attention is focused on Gaza. The US and the rest of the West are having their own serious problems, the occupational hazards of hegemony. Putin might as well be a simulacrum. It's a good time for one. Later this year, the US may turn out to be vulnerable to having its chain rattled and its string pulled, which may be exciting, and the Russians may want a more substantial great hero to take up that part of the play. To us in the West, Russia is still the enigma, etc., the land of Raskolnikov and Rasputin. How does it feel to be an enigma, instead of the malign circus we have in the US?