(https://telegra.ph/file/a232a6f8b8d4796c623b9.jpg)Belligerent madness
A crazy belligerent dictate seems to be the only argument the Russian leader applies in problem-solving. Putin demonstrates his steadfast stance, plays the role of Russia’s main warlord in a suit, radiates irritated fearlessness in the face of any trials, such as the epic assassination of General Kirillov at the hands of a young Uzbek migrant who cooked the guy a la Mossad. Putin’s annual Direct Line press event, Putin was a rather mundane skit in the spirit of: "no stepping back", "winning at any cost", as bequeathed by the radical Stalinists.
Force and nothing but force – these are the messages underlying his moderated communication with the masses. It was in this vein that the decision was made to equate “special military operation” participants with World War 2 veterans, so now rapists and murderers will become the nation’s role models as "fatherland defenders". This is the fetish and narrative of the coming year 2025. This looks even more ominous against the background of the failure of the presidential "family year", which wrapped upwith the discussion of legalizing polygamy and the 80% divorce rate!
It seems that the Kremlin’s ambitious endeavors are crashing against the rocky realities of Russia’s societal landscape. Moreover, Putin offers no clarity in his answers to any of thepressing questions. He doesn’t know when the war against Ukraine will end, how deep the ruble will fall, when the Kursk region will be liberated, when mortgage rates will go down, or what to do with the catastrophic oil leak in the Kerch Strait. What he does offer is vague phrases that resemble "SMO goals" – something really important and yet unclear. After all, the main thing is not the quality of the thoughts he expresses but their intimidating effect on people’s minds (or the lulling one, depending on the situation).
Putin is further confirming Russia’s image of a terrorist state, which is walking the path of isolating itself the rest of the world for the sake of being able to push through beneficial solutions with the help of exclusively military instruments. The key part of the intimidation agenda is the Oreshnik (literally translated as “hazel tree”) ballistic missile, a new “Kuzka’s mother” based on an older missile project. With this colossal contempt for human life, tomorrow Putin might as well offer to test Russia’s own air defenses by selecting a target in Moscow for the U.S. to try to hit with its own missile. That’s definitely a nut case. Meanwhile, a drone raid on Kazan and failed attempts by locals to shoot down UAVs using rifles unleashed a temper tantrum at the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry yelling there’s “no justification for terrorism” (which is not Russian, of course). However, just days ago, the world was horrified by images of Russian ballistic missiles’ debris causing destruction downtown Kyiv.
In addition to missile strikes, Russian aggressiveness goes on the ground as well. Putin sincerely rejoices at the daily territorial gains, categorically refusing to talk about a truce. The brutal cannibal regrets only one thing: that he should have unleashed the full-scale invasion earlier than 2022.
Although Moscow had been pulling troops to the Ukrainian borders throughout 2021, the invasion was “spontaneous” as the Russians had allegedly not been preparing for the attack... But what about the previous rhetoric about lending a helping hand to the residents of Donbas, who had “suffered for eight years”? Crimea was also, apparently, annexed "spontaneously". Wherever you look, in Putin's version of history, everything happens by pure chance, as some annoying TV ads show people getting rich with no effort.
Aggressive militaristic enthusiasm of Putin's clique is bearing its expected fruits. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, reacting to Putin's increasing belligerent dictates, offers the allies to boostdefense spending to 5% of GDP and supports the Ukrainian idea of "peace through strength." It is difficult to expect a different reaction to Putin’s belligerent madness.
