The Russian People May Be Starting to Think Putin Is Insane

[babylonsister]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-russian-people-may-be-starting-to-think-vladimir-putin-is-insane-ahead-of-2024-presidential-elections?ref=home

The Russian People May Be Starting to Think Putin Is Insane
MADMAN THEORY
The more desperately Putin tries to demonstrate his authority ahead of elections in 2024, the more his grip on power may slip away.
Amy Knight
Updated Mar. 01, 2022 11:40AM ET / Published Mar. 01, 2022 4:22AM ET


There is a lot of talk in the West about Russian President Vladimir Putin being mentally unhinged. How could he not have known that his invasion of Ukraine would have serious consequences for his country? Or is he so obsessed with maintaining an image of greatness—especially ahead of Russia’s upcoming 2024 presidential elections—that he doesn’t care?

Either way, Putin risks losing the confidence of his people, whose economic suffering will increase as the conflict continues.

Perhaps the question of Putin’s sanity is beside the point, because there is little the West can do about it. Although both Hitler and Stalin were crazy by any psychiatric standard, they were still able to inflict horrific damage and death on millions of people. But Hitler did not have nuclear weapons, and Stalin’s hydrogen bomb was still being tested when he died. Putin’s nuclear arsenal, on the other hand, could destroy parts of the West in minutes.

snip//

If Putin seems both narcissistic and deranged to the West, his own people may be getting the same impression, especially now that he has started talking about using nukes. And feelings of patriotism can only go so far when pocketbooks are empty. As political commentator Anton Orekh noted: “The effect of the current patriotic enthusiasm will be even shorter than after the Crimea. The economic situation is getting worse, so after some time even a victory over the Kyiv junta and the Anglo-Saxons will arouse people less than prices in stores and half-empty shelves.”

Unlike those who lived under Stalin and Hitler, Russian people today do not face death if they protest on the street, though they can be thrown into jail, as we have seen with the thousands of arrests in the past few days. Nor would Putin’s subordinates be shot if they refused to go along with Putin’s further acts of aggression. So, hopefully, Russians themselves will take action and stop their leader before “the consequences we have never seen in our entire history” are allowed to occur.

[patphil]

1. We've already had that "aha" moment over here with his toady...voted him out.

[EYESORE 9001]

2. What's my name? Pootin Sane! Ask me again and I'll tell you the same.

[raging moderate]

3. Think?

Or maybe beginning to KNOW that Putin is crazy.

[CaptainTruth]

4. Yes, & this line reminds me of my hope for America...

"So, hopefully, Russians themselves will take action and stop their leader before “the consequences we have never seen in our entire history” are allowed to occur."

If Republicans are on the verge of destroying our democracy, as perhaps they already are, & they take Congress & the White House, I would rewrite that line to "So, hopefully, Americans themselves will take action and stop their leader before “the consequences we have never seen in our entire history” are allowed to occur."

[malaise]

5. It's interesting to watch the same media hacks discussing Putin's insanity

He's no less mad than the Slobfather, but they didn't dare touch that.
The double standards are breath-taking particularly since the Slobfather orchestrated a coup

[LakeArenal]

6. I think he underestimated the real time images going out to the whole world.

The images of young Russian soldier prisoners calling their moms. The tanks out of gas by the sides of the road and farmers offering to tow them back to Russia. The grannies getting armed and dangerous.
Underestimated the World standing against this evil and inane war. Underestimated the support the people have for their Ukraine president.

It’s overwhelming to most sane humans.