I tend to agree with your assessment. I am sure that this conflict is going to shake out a lot of the dead wood from the Russian military and the military procurement bureaucracy. If Putin was smart he would identify the best performers in the ranks and promote them to noncoms and to keep them for a long time. Putin should also clean out the officer corps for poor performance and promote combat veterans into their positions.
“If Putin was smart he would identify the best performers in the ranks and promote them to noncoms and to keep them for a long time. Putin should also clean out the officer corps for poor performance and promote combat veterans into their positions.”
You’re forgetting about the Dictator’s dilemma. Putin cannot have both an effective modern military command and remain in power forever. He has to choose one or the other, and he has already made his choice.