Except that's not true. Western propaganda makes Putin out to be a Stalinesque autocrat, but that's just not accurate. He can't govern without the oligarchy on his side, and he can't afford to piss them off. That's the truth.
Yup. Every Russian I've spoken to says it's the Oligarchs who run Russia and Putin is more or less a figurehead. It's no different than western countries except Putin is actually competent and command respect in his own right, whereas western leaders do not.
It's a fine line. If the boss isn't afraid to kill enemies of the country/state/your gang/whatever then it's respect. If he starts killing members of the team, it turns into fear.
Insane? You literally buy that? The guy seems incredibly smart and knowledgeable to me. You realize they called Trump insane for years. Everything Putin is doing is good for Russia so why call him insane?
More like, he owns them.
You don't need to nationalize what you already control.
Except that's not true. Western propaganda makes Putin out to be a Stalinesque autocrat, but that's just not accurate. He can't govern without the oligarchy on his side, and he can't afford to piss them off. That's the truth.
Yup. Every Russian I've spoken to says it's the Oligarchs who run Russia and Putin is more or less a figurehead. It's no different than western countries except Putin is actually competent and command respect in his own right, whereas western leaders do not.
Respect? He's insane. It's most likely just fear of repercussion from his cronies.
It's a fine line. If the boss isn't afraid to kill enemies of the country/state/your gang/whatever then it's respect. If he starts killing members of the team, it turns into fear.
Insane? You literally buy that? The guy seems incredibly smart and knowledgeable to me. You realize they called Trump insane for years. Everything Putin is doing is good for Russia so why call him insane?
I think you've got that order reversed. He's absolutely an autocrat, Russia's never had a government that wasn't autocratic.
He would still seize Russian assets at the behest of those Oligarchs. Just as our government will.