Interesting article Meduza put out in their weekend report. From a Russian Sociologist about Putin and Russian mindset. Interesting and depressing in his discussion of Putin and Russian mindset, which is very different from how we view the world/war/future.
Net is Putin will never stop (in Ukraine and in wanting to invade other Eastern European countries), and that the Russian people's mindset is to eat a shit sandwich from whatever dictator/tyrant they have and to blame everyone else for their misery.
Putin will continue forward as he thinks the war has long been going on for Russia to gain its ascendancy and that means invading NATO countries he believes are rightfully Russian once he is done with Ukraine.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/02/25/russia-ends-nowhere-they-say?utm_source=email&utm_medium=briefly&utm_campaign=2023-02-25
So NATO countries are not willing to make Ukraine a NATO country and sign something that immediately puts them and all of NATO at war with Russia? Shocking!
… and if it is something the current UK government will sign then based on repeated statements backed up by actions they are not trying to limit Ukraine in their fight against Russia.
Seems like made up headlines and Russian media trying to stir the pot.
But that's the hook. Do you want your French Riviera Villas back? Do you want your yachts back? Do you want to get rid of McDonaldsky and get real McDonald's back?
Russians are use to eating shit and being told what to do until an incredible breaking point. And likely whoever replaces Putin will be just as big of a shithead as he is.....but if the new Shit head likes Villas, yachts and Big Mac's, then they will try to set up the early Putin years control where they had Westernization and Oligarchs/Mafia. "Let's show the West how great Russia is by beating them at their own game!"
The people will be told and believe anything, and they will go along with it so long as life gets better and Starbucks comes back.
I think the answer is more about how loyal Shoigu is to Putin. I am sure he knows he could put a more competent person in that role, but someone competent could be a threat to Putin. Shoigu is absolutely loyal as he owes everything to Putin, and if Putin goes away so does everything Shoigu has been given/taken.
This. Russia is good at poisoning people.
Russian FSB: Let's make a contact poison to put on something that we can give to people. Let's make it smell really bad and have a really odd texture and skin reaction so it is very obvious to the person near it or touching it that there is something bad/odd there.
or.... maybe this is BS. But I am sure many of their political opponents will be captured, tortured and killed to find their opponents guilty.
Texas A&M played their first SEC game in 2012. They played Georgia in a conference game for the first (and only time) in 2019. Not sure this is an issue keeping the SEC up at night.