“Putin isn’t Stalin, I believe he’s on shakier ground than people may think.”
Stalin was a sadistic simpleton who mistakenly trusted Hitler.
Putin is an intelligent sociopath who wants to avoid Hitler’s mistakes.
I am not a fan of Putin. Not at all. But I recognize his clear ability to consolidate power and his obvious ability to cow and intimidate the West into letting him have what he wants.
What’s being missed in this invasion of Ukraine is the fact that Russia has also effectively invaded and occupied Belarus and Moldova. Putin’s success in rebuilding the Soviet Empire is much greater than most people realize.
And that makes him dangerous and that’s also why we don’t need flaccid sanctions against his regime, we need an immediate and total trade embargo against Russia.
Anything less than that means we’re still funding Russia’s military.
I don't think he trusted Hitler as much, as it was he knew he wouldn't be ready to launch an offensive until 1943. The thing that Stalin didn't expect was for France to fall so easily, he envisioned another stalemate that would bleed the armies dry, so he could swoop in.
“Stalin was a sadistic simpleton who mistakenly trusted Hitler.”
Well, you got the spelling of the two names right. Beyond that you reveal an appalling lack of historical understanding. Much as you, I, and others may despise Stalin - and rightly so, he was a sadistic monster - he was no simpleton. He won the strategy poker game time after time with a weak hand. He clearly outmaneuvered Hitler and most of the other world leaders of the time, much to our lasting shame.
Thankfully, he was succeeded by increasingly incompetent leaders, leading to the collapse of the Soviet system.
It's strong talk like that will tidy these matters up!