[Robert Urbanek]

Modern autocrats and despots are often film buffs. Russian leader Vladimir Putin, a former officer of the KGB, the Soviet Union spy agency, may fancy himself a Russian James Bond, an action hero astride the world stage.

Publicity photos preceding the release of Casino Royale (2006) showed a shirtless Daniel Craig emerging from the ocean. Shortly thereafter, photos emerged of a shirtless Putin fishing in a river.

In the last few years, Putin has used many photo ops to show himself as a man of action: shooting a tiger with a tranquilizer dart, scuba diving at an archaeological site, climbing a wall at a summer youth camp, arm wrestling, riding a snowmobile, piloting a motorboat, descending to the bottom of a lake in a mini-sub, and flying a motorized hang glider.

All of this might seem harmless preening except that Putin likely feels he is free to copy another Bond trait: a license to kill. Furthermore, the synchronicity between Putin and Bond may convince the Russian leader that he is blessed by providence and will be successful in all his international “adventures.”

And, of course, Bond took on Pussy Galore; Putin took on Pussy Riot.

[Skynet]

Putin is popular in Russia due to his foreign politics of rebuilding the Sowjet Empire.

But his party comrades not on local level due their corruption he should allow opposition as a ventile.


Best for Russia would be a constitutional monarchy and vladimir as the founder of the Putin dynasty.

[snapdragon]

I think a lot of middle aged men think they're James Bond, or someone just as unlikely.

[Code Rood]

Putin is popular in Russia due to his foreign politics of rebuilding the Sowjet Empire.

Meh, it's probably somewhere in the middle. Vladimir Putin does have opposition, we just don't hear about it much. We only hear about radical feminists or weird LGBT degenerates, because that's the only thing the mainstream in the Western world is interested in. We don't hear from serious people with serious problems.

[Rancid]

Putin is popular in Russia due to his foreign politics of rebuilding the Sowjet Empire.

How sure are you of his popularity? Weren't there a bunch of anti-government protests in Russia recently?

[Zionist Nationalist]

How sure are you of his popularity? Weren't there a bunch of anti-government protests in Russia recently?

he is mostly popular among people who are aged 30+

the young generation dont like him that much but I would say about 40-50% of them support Putin mostly because they dont see any alternative which is true unfortunately because the Russian opposition is disorganized and lack any kind of unity

BTW all "opposition" parties in the Russia duma are fake (controlled) opposition there was a case when a candidate of the communist party won in regional election and after a few days decided to resign and give the position to his opponent

in other cases there were re elections where government claimed that there were falsifications that was done in order to proceed with the true falsifications in the second round

Russia is a joke especially when they claim that the US is morally bankrupt and the world should follow Russia (thats what one of their government officials said on live TV)

[Rancid]

I am very curious to understand what will Russia be like once Putin is dead. I don't mean assassinated, I just mean once his reign is over (which will probably only happen once he dies). What happens to Russia?

[Silvan]

What happens to Russia?

I think that is still a long way away in the future.

[Robert Urbanek]

A reminder of what may explain Putin's mindset and that whole bare-chested he-man image he projects.

[Skynet]

Putin wants to be Tsar Alexander the Great, but considering the Ukrainian resitance, he will have the faith of Tsar Nikolaus.

[wat0n]

Although he's lacking on the intel part.

I mean, come on, this looks like a spectacular intel failure on Russia's part.

[Skynet]

Although he's lacking on the intel part.

I mean, come on, this looks like a spectacular intel failure on Russia's part.

He did not expect the Russian-Speaking part will also fight against the Invasion...


Nobody expected this!!!


According Al Jazeera English, is the majority behind Putin... but the war is just going on 5 Days...

[late]

Although he's lacking on the intel part.

I mean, come on, this looks like a spectacular intel failure on Russia's part.

Russia has superb intel, the best.

We can beat them in places, mostly signals intel, but we'll never catch up. They have a tradition that goes back to the Tsars.

Anyway, Putin is a tactical thinker. But this has strategic implications he totally missed.

If he settled for a nibble, like the Donbass, that would have been that. But all that work he's done undermining the West had him thinking we were cowed.

But there is an underlying reality NATO spends several times what he does, and that doesn't include the neutral countries like Finland, all of whom have excellent military assets.

Frankly, this caught me by surprise. I don't remember anyone saying this would happen. But it's welcome, Putin has done what I thought was impossible. He has driven Europe together (to a degree) and made them more receptive to our position.

Biden gambled big, and won.

[wat0n]

You don't need advanced SigInt. Whatever happened to Russian field officers? They should have been able to tell what could happen if Russian troops invaded Kiev. They could have even secretly commissioned opinion polls to learn that.

[Rancid]

It would be the FSB that would conduct the intel operations right? Hilarious given Putin's KGB background.