[Bullish]

A post-Putin regime in Russia will have to adopt free elections for the sake of legitimacy and align with the US against China as a matter of national strategy.

What are you high on?

[Rockingham]

Consider that even in the Soviet era, nominal elections were part of the regime's rationale, with election -- rigged though it was -- as the basis for Putin's constitutional claim on power. For Russia, free elections under OECD and UN standards would not be that hard to arrange if there is the political decision to do so.

As for alignment with the US and Europe, that is likely to be the price for a peace deal with all the sweet trimmings that Russia needs: the dropping of sanctions; the release of the hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian public and private assets that were seized and are now under the control of the US and NATO; and the reopening to Russia of Western commercial and credit markets.

In any event, Russia's fundamental national interest aligns more with the West than with China, which has territorial claims on Russian territory and views Russia not so much as an ally but as a partner of convenience against the US and the West.

[dforest]

It used to be “only kids say the darndest things”. Not anymore.

Their own country is being dismantled and they are focused on Ukraine.