Vladimir Putin is coming under increasing pressure in Russia. Violent disputes after the recent defeats in the Ukraine war split the dispatcher’s power base. “Putin will probably be gone soon,” says historian Harold James. But that doesn’t have to mean only good things.
The British historian Harold James spoke in an interview with “t-online” about the future prospects of Russian President Vladimir Putin. James said: “Putin will probably be gone soon.” The political situation in Russia is “much more unstable than many in the West believe,” said James. And further: “It is quite possible that Russia will soon fall apart.”
James points out that Putin is currently being “massively criticized” by extreme nationalists for his hesitant conduct of the war. And sees Putin facing an unsolvable problem: “Even with the toughest of violence, he will never be able to please these people. If there is a coup, it will probably come from this side.” Or the military can take matters into their own hands.
Putin is a loser who still hasn’t gotten over the end of the Soviet Union, James told t-online. “One lesson Putin just doesn’t want to understand,” explains James: “Imperialism always fails. Sometimes it takes a long time, but they fail. Putin’s end has already begun.”
But what follows the despot? James is not very optimistic. The fact that Putin might be gone soon “doesn’t necessarily fuel hope,” he says. “Because an immediate democratic successor government is very unlikely. Putin’s successors – if they come from nationalist military and intelligence circles – might also be more open to the use of nuclear weapons.”
More news about the Ukraine war:
Russia has appointed a commander for all Russian troops in Ukraine for the first time. He is considered a brutal war leader with a dark history. With his appointment, Putin wants to send a clear signal to the West – and to his critics at home.
In Russia, people have had to do without some amenities for months. The country is being deprived of numerous goods as a result of the sanctions imposed in the course of the invasion of Ukraine. But thanks to the “grey market trade”, some products still end up in the markets – even from Germany.
