What are all those Putin supporters who say that Ukraine is finished saying now? From today's WSJ. NOTE: this should be an unlocked version.
Ever since coming to power more than a quarter-century ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin has built a state religion around May 9, the anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the holiest day in the Russian calendar. On Saturday, Putin will preside over a Victory Day parade for the first time since his war on Ukraine went beyond the length of the Soviet Union’s war on the Nazis. He has no victories to celebrate. Persistent Ukrainian drone strikes across Russia, including on the capital, have forced Putin to ask for a cease-fire for the duration of the festivities. Parade organizers, citing security threats, have also dramatically downgraded the event, eliminating the display of armored vehicles and the march by military cadets. Cellphone and internet services are slated to be disrupted in Moscow for days. With the front line stalled, Russian casualties topping one million, the economy suffering and missile and drone strikes becoming commonplace, a deep sense of discontent has spread through the country in recent months. It potentially poses the gravest challenge to Putin’s rule so far—and may be more insidious than the aborted putsch by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023. Russian security services have responded with draconian new restrictions, blocking most online activity in an imitation of China’s “Great Firewall.” The restrictions, justified by the need to prevent drone strikes that continue regardless, are so severe that even nationalist loyalists supporting the war have started talking about a looming revolution. Rumors of alleged coup preparations and infighting between various parts of the security establishment swirl through Moscow salons..... “The Kremlin understands that there could be serious discontent ahead, and so it has decided to allow low-level discontent to manifest itself for now,” said Marat Gelman, a former Putin adviser and senior state TV executive who now lives abroad and supports the opposition. [Such shifts almost always indicate a coming governmental crisis.] https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/putins-strongman-image-is-fading-as-ukraine-brings-war-home-to-russia-985ec454?st=bG3Hja&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#41672): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/41672 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/119207077/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
