Posted on 10/08/2022 3:45:16 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Vladimir Putin’s disastrous military adventure in Ukraine has raised the prospect that his 22-year rule could be nearing its end. But will he go, or will he have to be pushed?
Seven months into the Russian president’s war of aggression, his troops have suffered massive losses of men and equipment and are in headlong retreat in eastern Ukraine. Putin’s order last week to mobilize hundreds of thousands of men has descended into chaos, drawing rebukes even from his own propagandists and political allies.
The 69-year-old autocrat rose to power in 2000, succeeding an ailing Boris Yeltsin after championing Russia’s second war in Chechnya. The chances of his leaving anytime soon are still remote, but it’s clear that the escalating fallout from his military gamble is already loosening his viselike grip on power.
Read on to explore the scenarios in which Putin’s reign could come to an end — and the pretenders in line to replace him.
OPERATION SUCCESSOR
Putin gets to choose
Putin has gone to extraordinary lengths to sideline rivals and rewrite the constitution to maintain his grip on power. The chance that he will make way voluntarily for a new leader is tiny, but it’s no longer negligible. Here’s who the Russian leader might make way for:
The Superspy — Nikolai Patrushev
Should Putin accept that his position has become untenable, Kremlin watchers see Nikolai Patrushev as his most likely successor. The former head of the FSB spy agency, now secretary of the Security Council of Russia, has the advantage of sharing a worldview with Putin — one that is shot through with hostility toward the West in general, and toward the United States in particular.
If anything, Patrushev’s views are more extreme:
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...
How about the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna?
:-)
Anything is possible with Russia. The next guy might be Kadyrov. But that is an extremely unlikely scenario. He's a Muslim. And a Chechen. 20 years from now? Maybe. Russia is going to become Islamic eventually. But that's 50 years away.
Putin is going to be just fine.
This is just war propaganda.
Ukraine is living proof that if a country commits genocide against certain a civilian nationality, has Nazis officially part of the govt military, has US funded bio labs with selective leaks, baby mills, is money laundering center for corrupt US politicians, then sooner or later somebody is going to cross the border and give them a major beat down.
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