Putin’s speech last week, mobilising reserves, preparing territorial annexations, and threatening nuclear war, might easily have followed a different tack. The tragic sinking in 2000 of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk, with the loss of more than 100 lives, gave an early glimpse of Putinism. During his national TV address, Putin’s lack of basic political skills was matched by a chilling absence of human warmth and animation. “That asymmetry is destined to become only more pronounced in the coming years as Putin’s regime depends on Beijing for its survival,” wrote analyst Alexander Gabuev. Putin’s ship of fools is holed beneath the waterline.

Source: The Guardian September 25, 2022 12:32 UTC