Xi will soon be taking part in a main meeting in China to determine if he continues in his power position. This Russia reverse throws a lot of trash into the machinery. Xi will no doubt be doing a very careful evaluation of Putin’s future (live, die, be overthrown and by whom) to determine how he should frame his own propaganda for continuation as head man. Also what and how much he should give Russia as help, and what he should demand in return. Gee I’m glad I’m not trying to run a country, especially a dictatorship!
A concrete obelisk topped with Soviet stars, which was the centerpiece of a monument commemorating the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany, was demolished in Latvia’s capital, Riga, on Thursday. Two diggers with pneumatic hammers brought the 79-meter (261-foot) obelisk down to the applause of numerous onlookers. A number of large-scale bronze statues had already been removed from the monument in the preceding days. In view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Latvia issued a decree that all objects glorifying totalitarian regimes must be destroyed by November 15. This included the Soviet victory monument erected in 1985.
“This monument was a steady reminder of our occupation and the associated fate of many people: deportation, repression, and so on. We do not need this kind of monument,” Latvian President Egils Levits said during a livestream of the demolition. Mayor Martin Stakis called the demolition a “historic moment for Riga and all of Latvia.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2DrxoTNdTk
With any luck the other ruling CCP families will depose him and quietly disappear him. He is well hated by at least two factions.