Simon Tisdall writes:

" What does the prospect of a perpetual Putin mean
for the future? At home, more croneyism, more
repression, more national stagnation, more grand
larceny by his magic circle of crooks and charlatans."

"Abroad, more anti-western agitation and subversion, more
right-wing populist poison and more sniggering and
bragging about liberalism obsolescence."

We're told that Putin's 2024 CV reads like a roll call
of 21st century woes.

Tisdall says that - "there will be endless strife in
contested countries like Syria, Libya, and the Ukraine,
there will be a UN system mired in endless stalemate,
nationalist delusions will be peddled, elections
fiddled, opponents assassinated, wealth stolen, and
democracy in retreat."

Finally in summing up Tisdall says:

"Putin survives through the ruthless exercise of
power, spurned by malign intent, greed, and personal
spite. He will not name a successor for he can never
retire. He has too many enemies to ever rest easy."

.. more croneyism, more repression, more national stagnation, more grand
larceny by his magic circle of crooks and charlatans.
Foxy,
That has a rather familiar ring to it, when I think of Academia's relationship with the ABC here !

There's no disguising the facts according to several
commentators " that the present regime in Russia relies
on violence for its survival." We're told that "the main
force behind the explosions of anger and protests was
not just dismay in what the regime has done, but
a lack of hope for the future especially within
the generation of Russians under 35 years of age."
Putin has not offered any compelling forward vision.

Instead we're told that "He and his cabal cling to the
past, and an imagined one at that."

It appears that "Mr Navalny on the other hand urges substantive
change for Russia to be decided by Russia's citizens once Putin and Putinism are abolished."

Good luck with that. One can only hop-e.

Hi Foxy

Putin's overlong control of Russia (effectively 1999 to the present)
may be cut short, by ill health, many fervently hope (anyway). According to lightweight newspapers, eg: Nov 6, 2020's http://www.businesstoday.in/current/world/russian-president-vladimir-putin-step-down-observers-got-serious-disease/story/421258.html

"[Putin] may have plans to step down as early as January [2021 - it didn't happen] amid fears that he may have Parkinson's, a report has claimed.

[Putin's symptoms?] "he appeared to be in pain as he held the armrest of a chair. His legs also appeared to be in constant motion. Other signs like twitching fingers while holding a pen or a cup point towards the fact that he may be suffering from some health complication."

SUCH "EVIDENCE" IS THIN and usually based on Double or Triple hearsay.
__________________

More scholarly or Kremlinologist sources say his "ill health" is only a Kremlin fed distraction to give foreign observers and Russian oppositionists hope against the reality that (notoriously physically active Putin) may still be in power through 2040.

Here's one such more credible source http://jamestown.org/program/behind-the-rumors-of-putins-illness-distraction-or-signal-of-looming-changes-at-the-top/

___________________

Only Stalin has ruled Russia longer - Stalin in power 26 years (1927 until his death Alone

in 1953) after he had most of the better Doctors in Russia (usually Jewish) executed or Gulagged - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_plot

It appears that "Mr Navalny on the other hand urges substantive
change for Russia
Foxy,
Navalny looks very much like the Goaf Whitlam of Russia to me at this stage. Let's hope the Russians are smarter than the '70s voter of here !

Thanks Pete for the information and the links.

Alexei Navalny's campaign against corruption of
Russian officials have made him a target. He's
spent hundreds of days in jail, and his
failed poisoning and subsequent imprisonment has
catapulted him to the top of the international
agenda. We can only hope that he's not killed.

Although I don't like his chances of survival.