Putin has built a very stable power structure, I'll give him that. And he's crazy popular in Russia, not least because of the fact that he controls all the medi

Putin has built a very stable power structure, I'll give him that. And he's crazy popular in Russia, not least because of the fact that he controls all the media. The only two ways I can see his regime could be defeated are: * Turmoil within his ranks leading destabilizing his power structure * Significant economic downturn (e.g. oil price falls or oil trading is hindered by sanctions) One could argue that the growing discontent with Putin among the younger generation could lead to his demise, but I don't think it would work. They can protest all they want but as long as 90% of the population are successfully hypno-toaded, Putin can deal with the protesters in any way he wants.