[Zhang Fei]

[Some speculate that Lukashenko would like to be the next Czar of a re-unified Russian Empire, and that he could be an acceptable figurehead to the security services elites who run Russia.]

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I’d be very surprised if Putin were just a figurehead. He built the security services from the ground up, killing anyone who got in his way. And Luka’s not going to trade a position with real power to become a puppet of the siloviki.

[BeauBo]

Not so much that Putin is a figurehead, as that he can’t continue long term as the public face, if they want to get sanctions lifted. Russia can’t be rehabilitated if he is.

No one else can take the blame, to get Russia rehabilitated.

He might also have one of the many rumored health issues, and jockeying could be going on.