Is Putin really crazy, like #45 crazy, or is it mental deterioration?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:If you have seen photos or video of Putin's latest meetings, he doesn't get close to anyone. He sits miles away from people in meetings. There have been a lot of stories about his fear of covid. My theory is that he has spent two years in near total isolation and it has affected his mental health. He is also probably not in touch with valid information because his only outlets are a few trusted "yes men" who only tell him what he wants to hear.

I just heard an expert saying the very same thing. He also famously doesn't use computers or cell phones/smart phones, so his knowledge of what's going on in the world is filtered through his "yes men."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. His people don't want what he's doing. His oligarchs can't possibly think this is a good idea. Why is he doing this-is he just an aging man trying to recreate the glory days of the past before it's all too late for him?

Russian oligarchs just saw the equivalent of a quarter trillion dollars of their wealth just go up in smoke as Russia's stock market collapsed, even with emergency trading bans put in place. If I were a Russian oligarch I would be furious with him and definitely wondering if there was something wrong with him. I'd be looking to remove him.

Wait, you think the oligarchs control Putin?

NP here: there is a tacit agreement and balance between Putin, the oligarchs/mafia, and the military generals. Putin is supposed to protect the oligarch's wealth and access to the West. What happens when he doesn't live up to his side of the bargain?

Soldiers or police or Wagner mercenaries visits the Oligarchs and they are never heard from again. Putin is past the point where he has to care about them.

He can pick off individual oligarchs, and he has to do that to keep any one of them from getting too powerful or organizing a group against him. But he cannot take them all out. Dictators need groups of powerful people who control the various parts of the country, from the military to the police to intelligence agencies to major businesses and banks in order to keep power. If they kill all of them, the whole apparatus of control and oppression comes crashing down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. His people don't want what he's doing. His oligarchs can't possibly think this is a good idea. Why is he doing this-is he just an aging man trying to recreate the glory days of the past before it's all too late for him?

Russian oligarchs just saw the equivalent of a quarter trillion dollars of their wealth just go up in smoke as Russia's stock market collapsed, even with emergency trading bans put in place. If I were a Russian oligarch I would be furious with him and definitely wondering if there was something wrong with him. I'd be looking to remove him.

Wait, you think the oligarchs control Putin?

NP here: there is a tacit agreement and balance between Putin, the oligarchs/mafia, and the military generals. Putin is supposed to protect the oligarch's wealth and access to the West. What happens when he doesn't live up to his side of the bargain?

Soldiers or police or Wagner mercenaries visits the Oligarchs and they are never heard from again. Putin is past the point where he has to care about them.

He can pick off individual oligarchs, and he has to do that to keep any one of them from getting too powerful or organizing a group against him. But he cannot take them all out. Dictators need groups of powerful people who control the various parts of the country, from the military to the police to intelligence agencies to major businesses and banks in order to keep power. If they kill all of them, the whole apparatus of control and oppression comes crashing down.

He needs the military, police, and intelligence services. There is an arguments to taking the oilgarchs property and redistributing it to generals would be better than keeping them around.

[Anonymous]

More like Trump was a wanna be Putin.

Putin is a dictator at this point, so he can do what he wants.

[Anonymous]

There is some information that Putin is suspected to have and early stage of Alzheimer's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. His people don't want what he's doing. His oligarchs can't possibly think this is a good idea. Why is he doing this-is he just an aging man trying to recreate the glory days of the past before it's all too late for him?

Russian oligarchs just saw the equivalent of a quarter trillion dollars of their wealth just go up in smoke as Russia's stock market collapsed, even with emergency trading bans put in place. If I were a Russian oligarch I would be furious with him and definitely wondering if there was something wrong with him. I'd be looking to remove him.

Wait, you think the oligarchs control Putin?

NP here: there is a tacit agreement and balance between Putin, the oligarchs/mafia, and the military generals. Putin is supposed to protect the oligarch's wealth and access to the West. What happens when he doesn't live up to his side of the bargain?

Hello Window on the 25th floor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There is some information that Putin is suspected to have and early stage of Alzheimer's.

Isn't it said to be possible Parkinson's?

[Anonymous]

His face is so smooth and puffy at the same time! It reminds me of Christopher Reeve post paralysis ( not mocking him; he was wonderful). Just wondering what condition Putin has. He used to be very boastful about his fitness and honestly looked pretty buff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's paranoia about being whacked that has driven Putin crazy. I don't remember where I read this, it was a while ago, but it was an article about how Putin lives in a cage of his own making. He couldn't step down without being assassinated, and he had (literally) poisoned so many people on his way to the top that now he is paranoid about being poisoned himself.

So if you live isolated in fear of betrayal, constantly suspecting that your own countrymen are out to get you, and that isolation & paranoia continues for years, I think it would mess you up.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's paranoia about being whacked that has driven Putin crazy. I don't remember where I read this, it was a while ago, but it was an article about how Putin lives in a cage of his own making. He couldn't step down without being assassinated, and he had (literally) poisoned so many people on his way to the top that now he is paranoid about being poisoned himself.

So if you live isolated in fear of betrayal, constantly suspecting that your own countrymen are out to get you, and that isolation & paranoia continues for years, I think it would mess you up.

This.

And he just screwed over what few oligarch friends he had, because the Russian market collapsed, nearly a quarter trillion in wealth went up in smoke before they shut down trading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. His people don't want what he's doing. His oligarchs can't possibly think this is a good idea. Why is he doing this-is he just an aging man trying to recreate the glory days of the past before it's all too late for him?

Russian oligarchs just saw the equivalent of a quarter trillion dollars of their wealth just go up in smoke as Russia's stock market collapsed, even with emergency trading bans put in place. If I were a Russian oligarch I would be furious with him and definitely wondering if there was something wrong with him. I'd be looking to remove him.

Wait, you think the oligarchs control Putin?

NP here: there is a tacit agreement and balance between Putin, the oligarchs/mafia, and the military generals. Putin is supposed to protect the oligarch's wealth and access to the West. What happens when he doesn't live up to his side of the bargain?

Many of the oligarchs are former Russian mob. Putin would do well to beef up his security detail to not have his "friends" whack him.

Stay away from windows Vlad!

I do think there is a certain segment of aging white men that have caught a brain worm. Giuliani and Flynn also have it.

[Anonymous]

Vlad. The great Vlad Putin.
He’s tough.
The guy’s tough, OK?
One of the toughest.

And he’s taking a look at Ukrainia.
He's taking a look at it.
They’re calling it a peace-keeping mission, OK?
Who doesn’t like peace? Ya gotta keep the peace.

[Anonymous]

He's puffy because of fillers and botox.
And yes, he is crazy. Between the grotesque security council meeting and his declaration of war, it's quite obvious.

[Anonymous]

Neither. If you look back at his illustrious career from bombing residential buildings across Russia, the Chechen war, all the meddling in Europe, wars in Georgia & Ukraine, and lending a hand in other conflicts, he's neither crazy nor senile. He's continuing with his modus operandi but is being more arrogant about it from all the wealth he amassed and his "success". He feels he can whatever. Is that madness? May be. But the modus operandi is the same it's been the past 30 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither. If you look back at his illustrious career from bombing residential buildings across Russia, the Chechen war, all the meddling in Europe, wars in Georgia & Ukraine, and lending a hand in other conflicts, he's neither crazy nor senile. He's continuing with his modus operandi but is being more arrogant about it from all the wealth he amassed and his "success". He feels he can whatever. Is that madness? May be. But the modus operandi is the same it's been the past 30 years.

+1. I don't think he is crazy at all. His maneuvers make complete sense if you look at things from his perspective. Google "The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia".