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Every Soviet or Russian leader since 1917 died peacefully in his bed, Beria was executed. Stalin did apparently expire in his own bed a few days after collaps

Every Soviet or Russian leader since 1917 died peacefully in his bed, Beria was executed. Stalin did apparently expire in his own bed a few days after collapsing on his floor. But given that he was suspiciously denied treatment for 18+ hours, the circumstances cannot quite be called "peaceful". Khrushschev died of a heart attack at Moscow Central Clinic Hospital. Andropov and Chernenko spent their last months mostly at that same hospital. Andropov "dropped off" there, and Chernenko likely did as well. Yeltsin spent his last 12 days at an unspecified hospital. And yet somehow you "know" that they all died peacefully and in their own beds. Putin's own circumstances will likely be significantly more precarious than the post-Stalin/Beria batch. The reason the latter were able to enjoy relatively peaceful exits (if not in their own bed at home) rests in the fact that the Soviet system at least had a working semblance of respect for the law; and everyone knew that the transition process was firmly in the hands of the Politburo and the KGB. The country's position in the world at large was quite stable, and it faced no external threats. Meanwhile under Putin, rule of law as such been entirely hollowed out; his supporting factions are more diverse suspicious of one another; and thanks to his actions, the country now faces significant external threats, which he doesn't seem to be doing a good or even adequate of managing. Pretty much anything could happen in his last days, under these circumstances.

hollerith 2y ago
"In a bed", then. I.e., his life was not shortened deliberately by other people. And Beria was never leader of Russia or the Soviet Union: he was head of the spy service, a position held since 2008 by Alexander Bortnikov. You've heard about Beria, but probably haven't heard about Bortnikov because Bortnikov has been much much less violent and hasn't made a habit of raping Russian women in plain view on the streets of Moscow like Beria did. And I disagree with your assertion that the Putin regime is more autocratic than the other Russian / Soviet regimes since the death of Stalin. Opposition leader Navalny for example held that Crimea should be part of Russia; ditto Yeltsin. (And Russia's holdings in Donetsk, Zaphorizia and Kherson oblasts can be seen as necessary to make it viable to hold Crimea over the long term: the so-called land bridge.) If Putin dies suddenly, Russian politics probably goes on mostly the way it has been going: i.e., very slowly becoming more liberal and more committed to the rule of law, with some setbacks. (I do not deny that Yeltsin was more liberal than Putin.) Arguably the US's finest diplomat was George Kennan, who predicted before Putin became leader of Russia that NATO's policy of expanding eastward would eventually cause Moscow to react with military force, which Kennan correctly predicted would be misinterpreted by the West as a re-awakening of Russian imperialist ambitions. Kissenger was also against NATO expansion as were many other Western diplomats and international-relations experts.
- aguaviva 2y ago
  Kennan's prediction was wrong obviously, as there's plenty of dispositive evidence for Putin's imperialist ambitions. You're wildly shifting topics here, otherwise.
- CamperBob2 2y ago
  which Kennan correctly predicted would be misinterpreted by the West as a re-awakening of Russian imperialist ambitions. He says he wants to restore the glory of the Russian empire ( https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/europe/russia-putin-empire-restoration-endgame-intl-cmd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/europe/russia-putin-empire-re... ). He can't do that -- him and what army? LOL -- but it's naive to ignore his literal words, or to dismiss them as a 'misinterpretation.' And the fear he has of NATO is the fear of a burglar in the face of the neighborhood watch.

hollerith 2y ago

"In a bed", then. I.e., his life was not shortened deliberately by other people. And Beria was never leader of Russia or the Soviet Union: he was head of the spy service, a position held since 2008 by Alexander Bortnikov. You've heard about Beria, but probably haven't heard about Bortnikov because Bortnikov has been much much less violent and hasn't made a habit of raping Russian women in plain view on the streets of Moscow like Beria did. And I disagree with your assertion that the Putin regime is more autocratic than the other Russian / Soviet regimes since the death of Stalin. Opposition leader Navalny for example held that Crimea should be part of Russia; ditto Yeltsin. (And Russia's holdings in Donetsk, Zaphorizia and Kherson oblasts can be seen as necessary to make it viable to hold Crimea over the long term: the so-called land bridge.) If Putin dies suddenly, Russian politics probably goes on mostly the way it has been going: i.e., very slowly becoming more liberal and more committed to the rule of law, with some setbacks. (I do not deny that Yeltsin was more liberal than Putin.) Arguably the US's finest diplomat was George Kennan, who predicted before Putin became leader of Russia that NATO's policy of expanding eastward would eventually cause Moscow to react with military force, which Kennan correctly predicted would be misinterpreted by the West as a re-awakening of Russian imperialist ambitions. Kissenger was also against NATO expansion as were many other Western diplomats and international-relations experts.

aguaviva 2y ago
Kennan's prediction was wrong obviously, as there's plenty of dispositive evidence for Putin's imperialist ambitions. You're wildly shifting topics here, otherwise.
CamperBob2 2y ago
which Kennan correctly predicted would be misinterpreted by the West as a re-awakening of Russian imperialist ambitions. He says he wants to restore the glory of the Russian empire ( https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/europe/russia-putin-empire-restoration-endgame-intl-cmd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/europe/russia-putin-empire-re... ). He can't do that -- him and what army? LOL -- but it's naive to ignore his literal words, or to dismiss them as a 'misinterpretation.' And the fear he has of NATO is the fear of a burglar in the face of the neighborhood watch.