If he wanted to do, he could do it tomorrow. He doesn’t want to, obviously, but he could. “Oh, but the people of Russia will revolt! They will be angry to end the war after so many casualties and struggles without any tangible results…” Maybe. Maybe not. But do you really think he couldn’t just crush any revolt before it picks up steam?
Yevgeni Prigozhin, commander of the infamous Wagner Group, revolted against Putin. His troops were half-way down to Moscow before he gave up his march.
On his way to Moscow, Russian soldiers sometimes joined Prigozhin. Some even took selfies with him as he moved towards the Russian capital at lightning speed…
Prigozhin was seen as much more heroic and capable than any of Putin’s other generals, not to mention Putin himself — Prigozhin had just, with very little help from the Russian armed forces, delivered Putin the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine. This was the ONLY major Russian victory of the entire year 2023, so this was a pretty huge accomplishment. This man had the popularity, connections and loyalty of his men. And still, he turned around before striking the head of the snake, reportedly because Putin threatened his wife and family who still remained in Moscow…
In June, Prigozhin marched on Moscow. Almost immediately gave up despite pretty solid support. Then appeared to make “peace” with Putin, only to “mysteriously” (and conveniently!) die in a plane crash two months later. If even this man couldn’t get rid of Putin, I don’t think anyone else in Russia can. So even if Putin retreated and people were pissed off, he’d still remain in power — there’s no one left to threaten his hold on the country. He can leave, but his own ego won’t allow him.
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