> If he escalates to use nuclear weapons, he's a fool
And we're all be dead. Nukes is basically flipping the board; if I can't win, nobody will.
I mean I hope that won't happen, and that Russia's military collapses in on itself as Russia's access to the international (financial) market is pulled. That'll probably take a while though, it's attrition. It might make the Russian people upset enough to be able to enact change, but not while the police and military are still on Putin's side and happy to stop any protests or whatnot.
Yes, one thing about Putin's mafia form of government is that if the godfather is no longer able to keep the money flowing, he will be put to pasture and someone with a cooler head will take his place. It's an unfortunate situation for Russia but even if Putin goes insane and wants to die in a nuclear fire, his system of patronage will follow the logic of greed. And they're going to be very angry about this when they lose their yachts.
And we're all be dead. Nukes is basically flipping the board; if I can't win, nobody will.
I mean I hope that won't happen, and that Russia's military collapses in on itself as Russia's access to the international (financial) market is pulled. That'll probably take a while though, it's attrition. It might make the Russian people upset enough to be able to enact change, but not while the police and military are still on Putin's side and happy to stop any protests or whatnot.