Business Insider: Putin has turned Russia into a ticking time-bomb only he can defuse

The Financial Times reported that Putin dismissed eight senior law enforcement officials while promoting 12 others who are viewed as Putin loyalists.

The formation of a National Guard is arguably the strongest sign that Putin is increasingly desperate to secure his power and position. It will report directly to the government.

That means security for Putin and his increasingly large close cohort of loyalists, as he can strengthen his hold over any elites who might be seen as getting out of line. [...]

Political uncertainty almost always means the players never look far ahead. But if nobody is forming long-term strategies, the collapse of Russia’s political system, Petrov says, is “as inevitable as the collapse of a financial pyramid scheme”.

Putin is Russia, Russia is Putin.

He’s hugely popular, but has created a regime where he is the central point of power and surrounded himself with lackeys to sustain it.That means if Putin crumbles, everything crumbles.

read the article