Vladimir Putin runs aground
When Vladimir Putin took things too far and got hit with the costly Magnitsky Act, he tried to make it up to his oligarchs by invading resource-rich Ukraine. When that resulted in costly sanctions, he tried to make up for it by installing Donald Trump. Now that’s finally gone belly-up, and Putin has been lost at sea.
Now Putin is running around. He’s been lying so low, in the wake of Trump’s downfall, even the Russian media is no longer afraid of him. According to the Daily Beast, the Russian media is now publishing rumors about his disappearance and downfall in order to get ratings. Regardless of whether any of these rumors are true, the real story is that Putin is now too weak to control the media.
What’s really going on with Putin is far from clear. There have been stories published about his health failing, about his plans to retire, and about his desire for immunity from prosecution in his post-retirement life. Putin may be trying to beat a path out of town before the oligarchs get tired of him costing them money and decide to take him out. In any case, it’s not going well for him – and with President Biden about to take office, it’s about to get even worse for Putin.
