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I’m not sure about that. I don’t see how anyone else in Russia has a personal stake in this war. The problem is Putin being killed is not the same as Putin dro
by simonh 5y ago
I’m not sure about that. I don’t see how anyone else in Russia has a personal stake in this war.
The problem is Putin being killed is not the same as Putin dropping dead. Whoever took over would have an imperative to take vengeance on whoever killed Putin, just on general principle, so it very much depends how it was done, who did it and what information was out about that.
- paganel 5y agoThe "fortress under siege" mantra has had a long life in Russia (and in now the former USSR), maybe the 1990s were a short reprieve in that respect (when parts of the Russian elites genuinely wanted to integrate the Western institutions) but generally speaking I'd say that ever since 1917 most of the Russian elites have seen the outside world as "them", as the "other that wants us down". It's not a "one man thing". This "hitlerification" of Putin hides a lot of facts on the ground, to the detriment of the West, which is why maybe they've dialed that discourse down a little in the last two weeks or so.
- simonh 5y agoI agree the mind set is there, but this particular war is a debacle. With Putin gone they might find it a lot easier to disentangle from it.