In the wake of his decision to invade Ukraine, speculation has mounted over Putin’s health.
His notably bloated face and neck led to suggestions he may be undergoing treatment with steroids, while there were also reports he had been visited by cancer doctors at least 35 times.
Others have put Putin’s diminished appearance down to his military failures in Ukraine, having failed to capture capital Kyiv within days as predicted.
Well, possibly not. For what if the aim is to go out with a bang?
So he doing the same as the suicidal airline pilot or train driver – killing loads of other people at the same time.
Having his immune system suppressed as part of the treatment would certainly explain why he needs to keep his distance from people.
And yes, having him die a horrible death, as my MP publicly speculated, is not some thing we should take lightly, not only because of the going out with a Big Bang option but also who come next? There’s no end of thugs in positions of power.
How much worse could his successor be really?
People worried about Stalin’s death for the same reason. In practice it didn’t come soon enough.
He has concentrated a power into his hands. At best it would take someone decades to achieve the same.
Fair point.
Whoever succeeds him will become as big an autocrat. They don’t seem to go in for the checks & balances we have – can you imagine any Russian leader going through what Boris is currently having to suffer?
There have been relatively enlightened Tsars before – Peter & then Catherine perhaps – but they were still autocrats and embroiled in various wars with Ottomans, Swedes, etc.
I would think the same idea is being discussed in Russian military circles. So what benefits are likely to accrue to those particular Russians should an old sick man decide to throw his toys? What’s their Mums’ opinions?
Incidentally, being a rather cynical devious person, I am wondering if the Russian military incursion into Ukrain isn’t going to some peoples plan. After all, if you’re in the military, your job’s to provide a military. Doesn’t mean it actually has to function. Let’s say Putin’s plan had succeeded & rolled Ukraine up to the Polish frontier. Next stage the Baltic states with a retaking of the Warsaw Pact states to follow. Does anyone in Russia really want to go head to head with NATO? A full nuclear exchange? What are they going to get out of it? Medals?
Putin is about to DIE, according to the exact same people who swear blind Joe Biden is the picture of health and the Russian army collapsed 30 days ago and the Ukrainians are totally winning you guys, trust us.
Forgive my scepticism, comrades.
Putin is obviously old tho, can’t keep doing this job forever. Who will replace him? No idea, but it’s unlikely to be somebody the United States government likes. Don’t ask questions, just boo at Current Hitler and get excited for Next Hitlers.
Brought to you by the same media players who brought you the hoax that Trump was a Russian plant , currently being utterly demolished by Durham, the special prosecutor currently working his way up the food chain of how it was perpetrated, including the manufacture of data regarding Alfabank, Shrillary and the DNC’s lawyer palming evidence onto the FBI as a concerned citizen while billing the DNC for his time doing so…will he work his way up to the top?
At some time the media stopped asking questions and became purveyors of the preferred narrative relying heavily on unnamed sources and rumour, then villainising antone who dissented.
“How much worse could his successor be really?”
So what’s Putin actually done – over the last two decades, to stiff us all in the west? I mean, any more than our own leaders are doing – with Net Zero, Covid fascism, Woke, assaults on liberty and speech, and all the rest of the slobberingly left PC drivel that our politicians come out with, irrespective of so-called political allegiance.
For example, he’s continued to supply the west with lots of gas/energy, when our own politicians have appeared less keen?
So what’s Putin actually done – over the last two decades, to stiff us all in the west?
The same as those bastards Saddam, Gaddafi, Assad, the Taliban, Milosevic… Hitlers. A flock of Hitlers.
There was the novichok story, in which alleged Russian spies allegedly engaged in a wacky Benny Hill farce with (pick one*):
a. the deadliest substance known to man or trans-woman pre-Covid
b. actually not that bad a poison and you can sleep it off in hospital
Craig Murray used to ask a lot of questions about that story, until he was jailed for completely unrelated reasons.
*I lied, the British authorities picked both
Putin is about to DIE, according to the exact same people who swear blind Joe Biden is the picture of health and the Russian army collapsed 30 days ago and the Ukrainians are totally winning you guys, trust us.
Who, the Telegraph? The Venn diagram overlap of people who swear Joe Biden is healthy and anything else is pretty small. So just a shit argument wrapped up in a lame joke, which seems to be your standard nowadays. What happened?
I can’t see the Russian chain of command being keen to join Putin in a short, fiery glory.
As to any replacement, it’ll either be more of the same or throwing the current strategy under the bus and putting the blame on the dead.
There’s nothing wrong with Uncle Vlad that a nice cup of tea with Andrey Lugovy wouldn’t cure.
PJF – I’m sorry you don’t like my jokes and promise to be FAIRER* to compulsively lying media whores.
*Lions are fair
Chester Draws
April 22, 2022 at 6:51 am
How much worse could his successor be really?
Apparently he is considered too moderate by some in the upper reaches of the important sector of the Russian Body Politic.
Speculating about President Putin’s health, but not President Biden’s health.
Distraction tactics, much?
The desperate desire to continue the wishful thinking Russia is going to lose, Plucky™️ Ukraine – that bastion of freedom and democracy – will, triumph and virtuous, White Knight USA & West celebrate in a wankfest of self-righteousness.
Pass the humbugs, mother.
Putin is about to DIE, according to the exact same people who swear blind Joe Biden is the picture of health and the Russian army collapsed 30 days ago and the Ukrainians are totally winning you guys, trust us.
…. brought to you by the person who said the Russians were going to just walk all over Ukraine, that Boris never went to Kiev, and so on.
There is something about Bidens dodgy health in all but the Guardian just about every day, certainly every time he does something daft, but hey, if it helps you rant on, sure. It’s all a massive conspiracy, or something.
Harry – brought to you by the person who said the Russians were going to just walk all over Ukraine, that Boris never went to Kiev, and so on.
Reeeeee! Russia bad! Steve bad!
Dunno if I ever said the Russians were gunna walk all over Ukraine. They definitely are doing that, just can’t remember saying so. Think I mentioned before the war that I’d be surprised if they actually invaded, because it’s a stupid idea. I also didn’t think they had enough men amassed at Ukrainian borders to seize the country, which of course they didn’t. I’ve also repeatedly expressed my opinion that Russia is a corrupt shithole run by gangsters. But apparently if you don’t specifically denounce Putler thrice before the chicken farts, you’re some kind of KGB stooge or whatever.
Russia is winning handily if not easily (it would be so much easier if they were as bloodthirsty as Western media claims – Zhukov wouldn’t give his encircled enemies half a dozen offers to surrender) and there’s no plausible route to military victory for Ukraine. Which is probably why the narrative switched from unlikely Ukrainian superheroics to unlikely Russian atrocities a couple of weeks ago.
Seems equally unlikely to me that Boris went to the city formerly known as Kiev while tons of randos were running about with guns, arresting “Russian saboteurs”, and unlikelier still the various Europols who allegedly visited while the Rooskies were camped outside the city actually turned up in person. But I don’t think it’s important either way.
There is something about Bidens dodgy health in all but the Guardian just about every day, certainly every time he does something daft, but hey, if it helps you rant on, sure. It’s all a massive conspiracy, or something.
It literally is a massive conspiracy tho, the media brazenly lies to you every day, and on a wide range of topics. They also coordinate their lies (that’s where the conspiracy bit comes in). They aggressively go after, vilify and deplatform independent media (ask Joe Rogan). You’re probably aware of this on some level, whether it’s on the subject of climate change, racism, Orange Man, trannies, the wage gap, the Religion of Peace, or – I dunno – Gamergate, even?
Yet you trust them implicitly when it comes to Russian Man Bad, because Gell-Mann amnesia and because you’re not immune to propaganda.
I’m not immune to propaganda either, in fact I love a good propaganda. I just hate my actual enemies, who are doing actual harm to me and mine, a lot more than I care about the far-away foreign chappies my enemies want me to hate.
He should try Polonium – it would help with the swelling.
Which is probably why the narrative switched from unlikely Ukrainian superheroics to unlikely Russian atrocities a couple of weeks ago.
Either that, or the mass graves, maybe?
Yet you trust them implicitly when it comes to Russian Man Bad, because Gell-Mann amnesia and because you’re not immune to propaganda.
Nice try, sweetheart, but I can actually read a news source and assess it critically, unlike those who just repeat Putin propaganda and various lazy stereotypes encapsulated in a couple of pub bore “jokes”.
I see Steve still hasn’t got hid head around the fact that the Russians are losing. Albeit slowly.
They just launched their big push, and made whole kilometres! As weapons flow in for the Ukrainians and are expended by the Russians this will come down to infantry. And the Russians have already lost their best.
The issue is now can they hold Lugansk and Donetsk.
Putting has been an utter disaster for Russia. He has run the economy for his own personal benefit only. And engaged in ruinously expensive foreign policy.
He’s even managed to spend a lot of money to build a shoddy army.
If the Russians get another autocratic, so be it. But one that looks after his countrymen would be nice.
. . . the fact that the Russians are losing.
I don’t think this conflict is developed enough to say who is winning or losing at this stage.
An independent observer in late 1942 might sensibly think the Germans were “winning handily” in Russia; in late 1943 things looked dodgy for Jerry but maybe he could pull something out of the hat; by late 1944 everyone knew it was curtains for the Reich. Unless you have some insider knowledge (like Friedrich Paulus before the war even started) there is no way to know before things get obvious.
So long as Russia holds some extra part of Ukraine when the almost inevitable “deal” is made, then it can be said to have won. However, if it doesn’t achieve its (newly revised) stated war aims then it can be said to have lost. This assumes Russia stays the same – if it economically collapses and / or breaks up, then it can certainly be said to have lost.
Ukraine has to be able to at least push the Russians back to the 23rd February position to be said to have remotely won; simply surviving with some loss of territory would be a major achievement but still a loss. I’ve no idea if Ukraine has any capacity for a major strategic offensive, such as taking back Crimea (I’m not entirely sure it’d be “allowed” to by the West) but that’s what it would take for Ukraine to be said to have won.
I don’t give any credence to these Putin health puff pieces
Good article about Russia / Ukraine
https://dailysceptic.org/2022/04/21/straight-from-the-freezer-the-cold-war-in-ukraine/
Also, there’s no guarantee that someone worse wouldn’t fill the power vacuum. Stick with the sociopath you know.