Entire Russian Government Resigns, Giving Putin Total Power.

[Draco-Onis]

What is ironic about it? Your and our media have their own interests that are often quite different from "reporting truth".

And your media also prefers to paint one-note villains out of opposing leaders.

I don't read much of our state run media anyway, i'm mostly going by more balanced Western outlets i found over the years.

Funny seeing you haven't posted any article that doesn't paint this as rosy for Putin, you are not even considering the possibility that it may just be a power pay so Putin can be president for life.

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Just makes it easier to destabilise Russia, with one bullet instead of several

Pretty much this Putin dies Russia will plunge into chaos.

[Trassk]

Funny seeing you haven't posted any article that doesn't paint this as rosy for Putin, you are not even considering the possibility that it may just be a power pay so Putin can be president for life.

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Pretty much this Putin dies Russia will plunge into chaos.

He's already 67. The average life expectancy of a man in Russia is 71. He could drop dead in the next ten years and their countries screwed more then it already is.

[Draco-Onis]

He's already 67. The average life expectancy of a man in Russia is 71. He could drop dead in the next ten years and their countries screwed more then it already is.

Nah he is a billionaire with access to the best health care money can buy the average Russian's life expectancy is shit because their health care system among other things are terrible. That said he could still have a heart attack or a stroke or any number of things that increase with age.

[Trassk]

Nah he is a billionaire with access to the best health care money can buy the average Russian's life expectancy is shit because their health care system among other things are terrible. That said he could still have a heart attack or a stroke or any number of things that increase with age.

I mean next thing he'll probably declare himself the new Tsar and start living in the Romanov palaces

[Shalcker]

Funny seeing you haven't posted any article that doesn't paint this as rosy for Putin, you are not even considering the possibility that it may just be a power pay so Putin can be president for life.

What is so rosy about article i posted? :/

It just doesn't waste time calling him authoritarian dictator incessantly.

Pretty much this Putin dies Russia will plunge into chaos.

And Putin's goal is to prevent it. Of which current events are part.

Which precludes "president for life" solution as it doesn't solve this problem at all.

You're going from idea that Putin wants power at all costs, even at cost of chaos after his death. Reality is different.

[Draco-Onis]

I mean next thing he'll probably declare himself the new Tsar and start living in the Romanov palaces

The optics of that are bad even for him which is why he is playing semantics, he doesn't want an uprising. Putin has basically been a Tsar for a while now but doing that officially would cause a revolution.

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What is so rosy about article i posted? :/

It just doesn't waste time calling him authoritarian dictator incessantly.

And Putin's goal is to prevent it. Of which current events are part.

Which precludes "president for life" solution as it doesn't solve this problem at all.

Of course it is rosy Putin would never do a power grab he is totes definitely trying to hand over the government for a strong stable future for Russia

You're going from idea that Putin wants power at all costs, even at cost of chaos after his death. Reality is different

You mean I expect him to do the thing he has done his entire life your version of "reality" is laughable.

[Shalcker]

Of course it is rosy Putin would never do a power grab he is totes definitely trying to hand over the government for a strong stable future for Russia

Why wouldn't he? It fits with everything he said and did before. He believes himself to be "best for Russia" (deservedly or not; though he is certainly quite experienced at this point), but he doesn't believe himself to be immortal - or having infinite capacity to keep working.

Of course Putin could do power grab. Just like you technically could go out on the street and shoot people.

But what he actually does doesn't point in direction of "keeping total control over everything" (because he is certainly aware of possibility of chaos should he die in that case). It is more of slowly releasing reins to make transition manageable.

[Draco-Onis]

Why wouldn't he? It fits with everything he said and did before. He believes himself to be "best for Russia" (deservedly or not; though he is certainly quite experienced at this point), but he doesn't believe himself to be immortal - or having infinite capacity to keep working.

Of course Putin could do power grab. Just like you technically could go out on the street and shoot people.

But what he actually does doesn't point in direction of "keeping total control over everything" (because he is certainly aware of possibility of chaos should he die in that case). It is more of slowly releasing reins to make transition manageable.

Listen we aren't going to agree but you don't get to the position Putin gets without huge amount of ego and greed, he probably honestly believes he has a few decades left and plenty of time to nurture a successor. But just like all the vain kings of the past he isn't immortal and things happen, he doesn't give two shits about what is best for Russia but what's best for him and his money.

If he really wanted what's best for Russia the political structure would not be what it is with one man in complete control for decades, he would have walked away a long time ago.

[Shalcker]

Listen we aren't going to agree but you don't get to the position Putin gets without huge amount of ego and greed, he probably honestly believes he has a few decades left and plenty of time to nurture a successor.

What makes you think this way?

He might like power but he certainly doesn't look delusional.

But just like all the vain kings of the past he isn't immortal and things happen, he doesn't give two shits about what is best for Russia but what's best for him and his money.

He and his cronies do have an extreme liking of "stability", so they do give a shit at least in that regard - and worry about potential sources of instability.

Incidently, forbidding anyone who ever had foreign citizenship from holding government posts cuts a lot of kids of current elites out of future politics.

If he really wanted what's best for Russia the political structure would not be what it is with one man in complete control for decades, he would have walked away a long time ago.

Why exactly?

Changes like that take time.

[Draco-Onis]

What makes you think this way?

He might like power but he certainly doesn't look delusional.

He and his cronies do have an extreme liking of "stability", so they do give a shit at least in that regard - and worry about potential sources of instability.

Incidently, forbidding anyone who ever had foreign citizenship from holding government posts cuts a lot of kids of current elites out of future politics.

Why exactly?

Changes like that take time.

So your argument is Putin hasn't had time, do you not realize how long Putin has been the center of power in Russia?

[Shalcker]

So your argument is Putin hasn't had time, do you not realize how long Putin has been the center of power in Russia?

There were plenty of positive changes along the way that could make "transitioning away" possible.

Mishustin as PM (and some examples of governorship politics/promotions before that) points in "technocracy" direction as potential solution being considered:


Head of the Federal Tax Service
In 2010, Mikhail Mishustin was appointed head of the Federal Tax Service. In this position, he declared war on "dirty data" and began to root out problems with unjustified VAT refunds.[10][11]

After his appointment for this post entrepreneurs expressed the hope that Mishustin, as coming from business, would be more "friendly" to Russian entrepreneurs. Mishustin supported the simplification of interaction between businesses and citizens with tax authorities. For the convenience of people's work and the fight against corruption, Mishustin said that he intended to develop electronic services in the Federal tax service as much as possible.[12][13]

In addition to Informatization, the Federal tax service under Mishustin's leadership worked on new standards for servicing taxpayers. In particular, for the convenience of citizens, the opening hours of inspections have been extended. In 2015, the Federal contact center started working.[14][15]

During this period, the tax service was criticized for its overly strict approach to business, and Mishustin rejected this accusation, citing a significant reduction in the number of inspections. So, with the arrival of Mishustin in 2010, the Federal tax service changed its approach to the organization of control events, focusing on analytical work. As a result, the number of on-site tax audits has sharply decreased, while their efficiency has increased. If earlier every tenth taxpayer was checked, in 2018, the tax authorities checked only one small business company out of 4,000. The number of inspections of large and medium-sized businesses has also decreased significantly.[16][17][18]

As head of the Federal Tax Service, Mishustin earned a reputation as a skilled technocrat.[19][20]

[Draco-Onis]

There were plenty of positive changes along the way that could make "transitioning away" possible.

Emphasis on could but didn't and won't because all power is in Putin's hands there has been no room for anyone else's vision of Russia but him.

[Shalcker]

Emphasis on could but didn't and won't because all power is in Putin's hands there has been no room for anyone else's vision of Russia but him.

You're free to believe this way, and i'm free to know otherwise.

But trying to transition away in a safe manner is, again, just trying. Even with best intentions and best projections a lot of things can happen along the way, and Putin is more of a tactical, not strategic guy.

And even ultimate success - successfully transitioning away from "one man power" to data-based technocracy/expert solutions using their neoliberal model is not necessarily a great thing overall, even if it will keep Russia at world fourth/fifth spot for decades in economic terms.

And given limits to those who were outside of Russia/held foreign citizenship, whatever comes out isn't going to be friendly to West at all.

[eschatological]

He did try "fostering proteges". That's what the whole thing with Medvedev was, when he was mostly "hands off" as PM (even had some trusted ministers like Kudrin dismissed along the way).

It didn't work out so well. Trying doesn't mean succeeding.

This latest attempt is going at "transition from power" from another direction then essentially "appointing new President by Presidential decree" as it happened with Yeltsin->Putin transition.

More of a system creating better outcomes, less of direct decision-making. Underlined by choice of PM that is considered to be highly unlikely as "successor".

But Putin isn't going to run in next elections, thus noone will be directly challenging him.

It didn't succeed because Putin is a paranoid, ex-KGB nutjob. One thing even your article admits: Putin thinks he is the only one who can make Russia great again. In that way, he's very similar to Trump. He has a god-king complex, and he's putting power in positions that he can feasibly step in to if necessary as the "elder statesman" as you so understate it.

And given his history - he will interfere, whether from the PM position, or the out-of-sight, out-of-mind National Council position.

Medveyev's failures are the only reason he continues to stick around - because Putin knows the man could never unseat his own power.

[Shalcker]

It didn't succeed because Putin is a paranoid, ex-KGB nutjob. One thing even your article admits: Putin thinks he is the only one who can make Russia great again. In that way, he's very similar to Trump. He has a god-king complex, and he's putting power in positions that he can feasibly step in to if necessary as the "elder statesman" as you so understate it.

There is no "god complex". He knows his limits; he is just not seeing better options given all he knows.

Your belief that everything would be peachy if he just stepped away unconditionally is unwarranted.

And given his history - he will interfere, whether from the PM position, or the out-of-sight, out-of-mind National Council position.

Of course, that's the entire point of creating it - keeping broad trajectory consistent with previous decisions. But not necessarily micromanaging every decision as "power vertical" models go.

Medveyev's failures are the only reason he continues to stick around - because Putin knows the man could never unseat his own power.

Even designated successors can be failures (like it is the case with Medvedev). You got to have some ability in addition to ambitions to rise above.

Rather then rolling the dice with another successor they are trying different approach.

[Draco-Onis]

You're free to believe this way, and i'm free to know otherwise.

How do you know? both of us believe and are guessing what this move means unless you are Putin or live in his brain you cannot know anything.

[Shalcker]

How do you know? both of us believe and are guessing what this move means unless you are Putin or live in his brain you cannot know anything.

By looking at his actions in more detail then usual Western articles on "KGB-Evil Putin masterminding everything Russian with his total control".

And by seeing that other visions still exist despite various meddling (though they often struggle with getting sufficient popularity). After all, Communists are still second most popular party behind United Russia (who keeps dropping in ratings), and there are plenty of other left-leaning movements besides them - so increasing Duma power allows potential path for left mobilisation and eventual takeover.

[Draco-Onis]

By looking at his actions in more detail then usual Western articles on "KGB-Evil Putin masterminding everything Russian with his total control".

And by seeing that other visions still exist despite various meddling (though they often struggle with getting sufficient popularity). After all, Communists are still second most popular party behind United Russia (who keeps dropping in ratings), and there are plenty of other left-leaning movements besides them - so increasing Duma power allows potential path for left mobilisation and eventual takeover.

So the answer is no you don't know you are just an observer with an opinion like everyone else.

[Bdatik]

Why the hell are you engaging with a Russian propagandist?

[Easo]

What is so rosy about article i posted? :/

And Putin's goal is to prevent it. Of which current events are part.

Is that why he has been in power for two decades and basically made Russia into one party state? What an interesting way to ensure that... Nevermind all the power invested into himself, a single person, and thus not having a worthy successor when you are almost 70 and you could, realistically, just die, even with the best healthcare? I guess he has a genius masterplan xD