Putin's days appear to be numbered. He's now hearing a "drumbeat of denunciations" fr

[Boats]

Putin's days appear to be numbered. He's now hearing a "drumbeat of denunciations" from Russia's hardliners.
By: P.M. Carpenter News - 11-14-22
Re: https://www.pmcarpenter.com/2022/11/...ardliners.html

"Matters are definitely getting worse for Putin," said political analyst and exiled newspaper editor Maxim Trudolyubov to The NY Times. "But it is hard to know the extent because he has crossed so many lines and has still been able to keep control of his inner circle and those who matter," he added. "So far they have been successful in doing damage control."

But that control is slipping and it's slipping at a precarious rate, much like Donald Trump's political status in the U.S. The Times reports that following Russia's loss of Kherson last week, prowar activists delivered "their most cutting criticism of the military’s performance in Ukraine to date." Such criticism Screenshot 2022-11-14 at 2.10.40 PM hasbeen commonplace for months, given Russia's steady military collapse in Ukraine.

By Sunday, however, "the drumbeat of denunciations broke the taboo against singling out President Vladimir V. Putin himself," along with Russia’s "system of [one-man] government." This development, of course, has been anything but commonplace.

Most shocking is a post by Aleksandr Dugin, who for years has been known as Putin's ideological brain and has been, perhaps, the closest of presidential allies. Yet he mused about an autocratic leader's chief duty, that of protecting not only the people but all territory under his control. Post-Kherson: "The limit has been reached," remarked Dugin. "The authorities in Russia cannot surrender anything else."

Dugin omitted any personal criticism of President Putin — that is, by name — but in a bizarre allegory he referenced "a study of myths and religions that included the African tale of Kings of the Rain, slain for failing to make it rain amid a drought," as the Times paraphrased Dugin's forbidding assessment of Russia's sitting autocrat.

Also arising domestically are questions about Russian authorities and state news media's huckstering of the official line about the retreat from Kherson; that it was a planned, tactical measure and temporary only. The party line is akin to the Kremlin's "endless historical parallels between the war in Ukraine and the key role the Soviet Union played in defeating Nazi Germany," writes the Times.

Some notable Russians aren't buying that particular propaganda any longer. Oleg Pakholkov, the editor in chief of a regional paper, noted the obvious: At Stalingrad, for instance, the Russians could have withdrawn in the face of Hitler's approaching Wehrmacht. They did not. Russian soldiers instead stood their ground — unlike in Kherson — so that they could "break the enemy and grind him down and to prove to the world that we can," wrote Pakholkov. "The surrender of Kherson says the opposite," he wrote. "So soon those who took Kherson will come to other places." And "it looks like we have nothing with which to stop them."

In the weeks prior to Russia's Kherson calamity, Putin made much of his fresh, personal handling of war decisions. Poor timing, for others are not failing to notice what came of that military control by autocrat-cum-Generalissimo Putin. Also billed for criticism was his decision to hold the recent Kherson referendum. Reports the Times: "Social media posts questioned the authenticity of a September referendum in Kherson when the population was said by Russia to have voted overwhelmingly to become part of that country. The referendum's results appeared in sharp contrast to the jubilant crowds that were seen welcoming Ukrainian soldiers as liberators on Friday."

Another courageous editorialist, writing for the independent newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, questioned the entire Russian system of government. "[Putin's] decisions are not up for discussion," he wrote. "Therefore, he himself cannot make mistakes because there is no mechanism to correct them. A leader who admits a mistake lowers his status, which puts his qualities into doubt." The Times notes that Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s owner is Konstantin Remchukov, who is also "a member of the Russian establishment."

Intensely critical of the Russian regime was a scathing post on Telegram, a channel usually supportive of the government. "The Russian System, along with cockroaches, is one of the most tenacious organisms on earth, it too, we are sure, could survive a nuclear war," read the post. "In fact, it is a continuation of the Soviet system, which betrayed its country, accepted its destruction and dismemberment in 1991 in order to survive."

Most frightening was this entry in the Times: "A few commentators wondered aloud why Russia did not use its nuclear arsenal." This site has been unfortunately consistent in its view that Russia will debut its nuclear arsenal in some form — perhaps by unleashing "dirty" radioactive material. Militarily, Putin is out of options. It's that, or more lost ground in Ukraine, which his position of power simply cannot afford.

What this site is not predicting is Putin's imminent fall. "Some analysts suggested that the flow of criticism indicated that Mr. Putin had failed to distance himself from the repeated setbacks in the war," writes the Times, "but that the volume had yet to constitute a real liability." The volume, however, is cranking up. And the "drumbeat" of anti-Putin denunciations noted in this post's opening is becoming more rapid. To everything there is an end. And Putin's seems at least foreseeable.
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Personal note: It seems that Russia has about had it with Putin. The upper echelons
are teaming up to remove Putin from his current position - and bring down the level of
the ongoing firestorm created by him in Russia - and his war on Ukraine. I feel they
will be hard pressed to take him out of his current position. He has a tendency to
eliminate any and all who take exception to his orders and/or movements; and more
so his current uprising within Russia itself and the people.

Putin doesn't want to be a looser - but rather The Father of Mother Russia himself.
He got his ass kicked in WWII - and doesn't want another check mark - for his
current actions in Ukraine.
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The Motherland is suffering mixed emotions and the losses of their troops already.
The Ukraine folks will not let up their fight - and now with arms support - they can
inflict additional damage to his men in the field.
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It's almost reached "Check Mate" whereas he's gone about as far as he's going get -
without total annihilation of the Ukraine people. And if he triggers a large nuclear leak
the odds are good that the people in Russia will also suffer from these elements. It's
only a matter of time - he's on a short leash right now and close to being relieved or
shot dead - by those who want to end his likely-hood of a lifelong leadership.
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It's Close to that now!
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