Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[Zkuq]

shavenferret said:

Zkuq said:

To be honest, I don't really care what happens with Putin. I mean, I wish only the worst for him, but someone like him or even worse is just going to take his place anyway unless something changes more profoundly within Russia. It's actually scary that he might be one of the less problematic people that could be leading Russia, since he seems to be wary and even indecisive in his moves. What he's brilliant at is consolidating his power, but I haven't seen much else where he actually excels at.

I think that Putin's legacy will be defined by Ukraine and he'll be judged quite negatively for the enormous amount of deaths that have occurred in order to take the country, regardless how much territory he gains in the end.  

I imagine that the West will try to influence Russia from within to make the country more democratic, and to give the people more of a voice, so that fewer situations like this happen.  

If taking Ukraine at immense cost is the high point of Putin's reign, he probably won't be remembered as a great leader but perhaps only a good one by his people (and possibly not so outside Russia). But if it leads to something greater for Russia, Putin's legacy could well be considered greater too. Sadly I don't think the Russian people are going to be too bothered by the immense losses, as long as something notable is achieved with those losses.