He doesn’t give a shit about how many people and how much material he throws into the meat grinder
The immolation of two nations worth of young people is taking its toll on the country and the region at large. We saw Iran and Iraq hollowed out during the 80s war in much the same way (and for many of the same reasons - a Republican president playing both sides against the middle, hoping they’d both fail and fall into US sphere of influence).
Russia isn’t served by this war. It will only decay into a deindustrialized dictatorship further. The air war has immolated billions in Soviet era capital and severed access to European and Middle Eastern markets.
Ukraine isn’t served, as they land they’ve lost pales beside the obliteration of lives and livelihoods and working capital to the West.
Putin’s position on the world stage is significantly weaker than when he started, even with his friend Trump back in office. All Cheeto can do for him is staunch the bleeding, assuming he doesn’t take the opportunity to stab Putin the back and boost up a more America friendly replacement.
Russia isn’t served by this war. It will only decay into a deindustrialized dictatorship further. The air war has immolated billions in Soviet era capital and severed access to European and Middle Eastern markets.
Sure, Russia isn’t served by this, but Putin doesn’t care as long as he is in power and can live in luxury from being a cleptocrat dictator and inflate his ego by the size of his empire.
Putin’s position on the world stage is significantly weaker than when he started, even with his friend Trump back in office. All Cheeto can do for him is staunch the bleeding, assuming he doesn’t take the opportunity to stab Putin the back and boost up a more America friendly replacement.
Currently, his position on the world stage is weakened, but with western alliances falling apart, this won’t matter, as long as he has a stronger position than the unfortunate isolated neighbour country he sets his sights on next. All Putler needs to secure Cheeto’s support is supporting his hunhinged plans of annexing Canada, Greenland, or Panama. Of course, a certain risk of being stabbed in the back by a serial con artist like Trump exists, but Russia hasn’t been an autocratic dictatorship only since yesterday. Even the Wagner rebellion failed. I doubt any backstabbing that could be done from abroad has any better chance of succeeding.
Putin doesn’t care as long as he is in power and can live in luxury
The war hasn’t improved Putin’s living conditions. This war has much more to do with Russians biter over the end of the USSR than Putin wanting to live like Elon Musk.
Just for starters, he can’t travel to NATO states anymore. Interbank lenders have cut Russian financial institutions out of their network, so he can’t get cheap USD loans. Russia is functionally out of the G8, which means he’s not flying up to Jackson Hole for Davos Summits or wining and dining in Paris or Rome or Brussels with the other Euro-snobs administering the West. Then there’s just the broad national balance sheet - refineries are getting blown up, military readiness is degraded which makes those parades a bit lackluster, and he’s doing far fewer ribbon cuttings on vanity projects in Moscow given the possibility of assassination attempts.
Bush Jr Era Putin was having a much better time than Trump v2 Era Putin.
The immolation of two nations worth of young people is taking its toll on the country and the region at large. We saw Iran and Iraq hollowed out during the 80s war in much the same way (and for many of the same reasons - a Republican president playing both sides against the middle, hoping they’d both fail and fall into US sphere of influence).
Russia isn’t served by this war. It will only decay into a deindustrialized dictatorship further. The air war has immolated billions in Soviet era capital and severed access to European and Middle Eastern markets.
Ukraine isn’t served, as they land they’ve lost pales beside the obliteration of lives and livelihoods and working capital to the West.
Putin’s position on the world stage is significantly weaker than when he started, even with his friend Trump back in office. All Cheeto can do for him is staunch the bleeding, assuming he doesn’t take the opportunity to stab Putin the back and boost up a more America friendly replacement.
Sure, Russia isn’t served by this, but Putin doesn’t care as long as he is in power and can live in luxury from being a cleptocrat dictator and inflate his ego by the size of his empire.
Currently, his position on the world stage is weakened, but with western alliances falling apart, this won’t matter, as long as he has a stronger position than the unfortunate isolated neighbour country he sets his sights on next. All Putler needs to secure Cheeto’s support is supporting his hunhinged plans of annexing Canada, Greenland, or Panama. Of course, a certain risk of being stabbed in the back by a serial con artist like Trump exists, but Russia hasn’t been an autocratic dictatorship only since yesterday. Even the Wagner rebellion failed. I doubt any backstabbing that could be done from abroad has any better chance of succeeding.
The war hasn’t improved Putin’s living conditions. This war has much more to do with Russians biter over the end of the USSR than Putin wanting to live like Elon Musk.
But has it worsened his living conditions? He is so obscenely rich that a few billions more or less won’t make much of a difference.
Just for starters, he can’t travel to NATO states anymore. Interbank lenders have cut Russian financial institutions out of their network, so he can’t get cheap USD loans. Russia is functionally out of the G8, which means he’s not flying up to Jackson Hole for Davos Summits or wining and dining in Paris or Rome or Brussels with the other Euro-snobs administering the West. Then there’s just the broad national balance sheet - refineries are getting blown up, military readiness is degraded which makes those parades a bit lackluster, and he’s doing far fewer ribbon cuttings on vanity projects in Moscow given the possibility of assassination attempts.
Bush Jr Era Putin was having a much better time than Trump v2 Era Putin.