03-08-2022, 03:10 PM
It's been a roller coaster. It looked like Russia would dominate on paper. Then it looked like Ukraine could pull off the upset. Now we are looking at a stalemate in the offing. Even IF Russia "takes" Ukraine, good luck occupying it without death by 1,000 cuts, to both its military forces and its economy.
Unfortunately, the iron grip Russia's government has on information dissemination and dissent, is going to allow Putin to stay in power a lot longer than the world wants. His approval rating is assumed to be somewhere between 60-70% because duped Russians believe the government's nonsense that Ukraine is this terrible threat that must be taken down for Russian security.
What we DON'T know is how the Russian people will react when excruciating economic pain and suffering is brought upon them. But even that can be blamed on Ukraine to some degree. Apparently 77% of Americans are OK with higher gas prices to punish Russia for Ukraine terrorism, so Russians could be willing to pay a high economic price to stop "the Nazis" in Ukraine and their evil Western collaborators.
As we transition to renewable energy over the next couple decades, Russia will be in a world of hurt economically as a result of the Ukraine misadventure punishments, and be left behind the rest of the world. Maybe over that time, Russian citizens will topple the communist government because it will be too weak to sustain itself and fend off a popular uprising.
The moral of the story for Russia is don't build your power on lies. Once you start, you can't stop, do stupid things, break laws, and back yourself into a corner where the only way out is your own destruction.
Unfortunately, the iron grip Russia's government has on information dissemination and dissent, is going to allow Putin to stay in power a lot longer than the world wants. His approval rating is assumed to be somewhere between 60-70% because duped Russians believe the government's nonsense that Ukraine is this terrible threat that must be taken down for Russian security.
What we DON'T know is how the Russian people will react when excruciating economic pain and suffering is brought upon them. But even that can be blamed on Ukraine to some degree. Apparently 77% of Americans are OK with higher gas prices to punish Russia for Ukraine terrorism, so Russians could be willing to pay a high economic price to stop "the Nazis" in Ukraine and their evil Western collaborators.
As we transition to renewable energy over the next couple decades, Russia will be in a world of hurt economically as a result of the Ukraine misadventure punishments, and be left behind the rest of the world. Maybe over that time, Russian citizens will topple the communist government because it will be too weak to sustain itself and fend off a popular uprising.
The moral of the story for Russia is don't build your power on lies. Once you start, you can't stop, do stupid things, break laws, and back yourself into a corner where the only way out is your own destruction.