| SvennoJ said: Putin must have a really tight group of loyal idiots under his command, it's hard to believe he's still in power. |
That is pretty much how Stalin perfected Russian military in his time. Stalin would regularly cull his officer's ranks by looking:
a) what officer shows own ideas? - if an officer had better idea than him, the officer was instantly toasted.
b) who has contradicted me? - see a) for the result.
This led to the Russian military as we have it now. Noone is going to show any initiative, everyone waits for orders from above, through all levels.
You have probably all seen videos of North Korean officers writing down every word that Great Leader speaks into their pocket books. If they can't repeat them ad verbatim later, see a) or b) above. Same principle.
Essay Pro