You think the way we’ve ( US and the EU) has treated Russia has created a moderate leader to replace Putin? One willing to take a knee?
“With Monday’s brutal escalation of the war effort, Mr. Putin appears to be responding, in part, to those critics, momentarily quieting the clamors of hard-liners furious with the Russian military’s humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.”
https://dnyuz.com/2022/10/10/with-attacks-on-ukraine-putin-gives-hard-liners-what-they-wanted/
This is one of the reports that claim Russian hard liners have seen Putin as too soft and now Putin has to quiet them if he wants to remain in power.
Putin’s in his last term anyhow. And if China’s Xi (look at how they humiliated Hu Jintao by yanking him from the CCP Congress in front of Xi) is any indication the two countries have the potential of going hard-line against the West.
Moderate political leaders in Putin’s Russia tend to meet unfortunate accidents or get riddled with bullets in mysterious unsolved shootings.