There's no other way out of power for #Putin than in a coffin
This is something that some of you might find this obvious and very cold as a take. How
Altro...
There's no other way out of power for #Putin than in a coffin
This is something that some of you might find this obvious and very cold as a take. How
Altro...There's no other way out of power for #Putin than in a coffin
This is something that some of you might find this obvious and very cold as a take. However, this is a thought that I had in mind ever since the start of the #invasion in #Ukraine back in #2022, and I decided to leave it somewhere online, for reference, even if this might affect my future in the short term shall any possible employer stumble across this. Because I know it will happen and I do not see any other way out. I closely followed all the developments in #Russia since a long time ago. I even wrote my dissertation on the topic of #Crimea, where I also touched a bit on Russia and Russian society if I remember correctly.
Truth is, Russia is nowadays a #totalitarian country. You cannot protest against anything the government doesn't want you to protest against, and there is no possible way to get any real opposition at any possible level. This is different from other authoritarian ruled states in Europe (also called #illiberal) such as #Serbia, or as #Orban's #Hungary was or like #Poland ruled by #PiS, where the opposition is (was) present on a local level and has (had) a significant impact, even while not being in parliament. Serbia had massive protests following the fallen canopy, Hungary and Poland likewise had similar massive protests. Eventually, both Poland and Hungary managed to topple the authoritarian governments that were solidifying their presence in the state apparatus.
Putin just proves time and time again that he is not willing to let lose of his power in any way possible. Massive protests were regularly organized back in the day. Nothing happened. Invasion of Ukraine started. Countless people took to the streets, opposition was forming, even some businesses were starting to be against the war. Still nothing; Putin even put riot police to beat the protesters and arrest them even more than before. People were being arrested even while holding blank sheets of paper on the street. Putin's forces arrested the biggest opposition leader, #Navalny, following a sham court trial, and let him die behind the bars. Other opponents or uncomfortable people like #Nemtsov or #AnnaPolitkovskaya were murdered under uncertain circumstances, but more certainly they were murdered under his own command. This was a huge red flag back then and probably more people should have taken to the streets in massive numbers or do something.
I am not sure if the complacency of the Russian people was to blame for this, or if Putin was really skillful in dismantling Russia's freshly formed democratic institutions and hurdles. However, the power Putin has right now is pretty much absolute. While he and his government can use every single available channel for propaganda, spreading it to schools, to external advertising, to business, to mass media, to social media (up to a certain extent), every single possible path for a change of power has been blocked. A candidate for presidency who displayed even a moderate anti-war stance was denied entry in the race. A party with a similar speech, fitting between the (still) legal margins of anti-war speech was denied entry in the State Duma (Russian Parliament). There's simply not a single way to politically remove Putin from power.
I am sure many people in Russia dislike the current situation. Ukraine managed to become almost on par militarily with Russia on the battlefield. Russian soldiers are killed as they arrive on the frontline, while drones and domestically produced cruise missiles strike deep behind the enemy lines, all the way to #Moscow and beyond. Ukraine is also creating almost permanent fuel shortages. There's no way the Russian people can be supporting their government under the current conditions. Everyone must have a relative who was killed or incapacitated on the frontline, everyone might know somebody (if not themselves) who is absolutely terrified by the sound of the drones flying across Moscow, everyone has been sitting in long queues at the pumps. There's no way the regular Russians have not been impacted negatively by this war, putting aside the fact that everyone considers them a pariah state and Western businesses have left or were forced to leave Russia.
Yet they cannot do anything. The Russian state is doing anything to suppress any possible attempt of a riot, even if it's remotely related to politics. The internet itself is controlled and people are censoring themselves when they are stating their dissatisfaction. Everyone who gets too vocal or too open against the regime (not even completely vocal or open) gets a nice visit from the police. If they are lucky, they escape the country and join the Russian diaspora who is also against Putin's regime. If they are not, they are more than certainly faced with the same situation of Navalny. Any type of opposition inside the country has been pushed underground, to the brink of its existence.
This is why I do not think there is a peaceful way to remove Putin from power. Putin will either get the fate of Hitler, Ceaușescu or he will die of old age in his own piss like Stalin. Or he will simply be assassinated. But he will never leave the seat empty alive.
