“Putin seems to have done a pretty thorough job of eliminating anyone in Russia who might impose consequences on him.”
True, and is also one of the issues in this war. Any general with the intelligence or charisma to win the support of his soldiers gets transferred to run a fuel depot in Vladivostok, otherwise he could be a threat to the regime.
Actually, Zelenskyy has done a thorough job of eliminating anyone in the Ukraine who doesn’t agree with his policies.
All opposition parties are banned and the TV news is under government control.
https://news.yahoo.com/zelensky-nationalizes-tv-news-restricts-173820471.html
The police are arresting and confiscating the belongings of those accused of being sympathetic to Russia.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-europe-kharkiv-51c514b6dc9cc1f935e018e4877222cc
There is reportedly an actual hit list.
https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2022/09/07/press-conference-shut-down-the-ukrainian-hit-list-targeting-americans-and-international-voices-of-opposition/
Neither side is snowy white.