Vladimir Putin to remain in power until 2036

[Major-Tom]

...That is, if he's still there in 2036. Be it death by natural causes or a coup d'etat, it's not quite right to say he's definitively there until 2036.

Russia's economy is deep in the crapper and Putin's approval rating has been dropping little by little each year. I don't see anything threatening his grasp on power in the next several years, but let's wait and see. Russia, historically, can be a bit harsh on once popular, long-serving leaders.

Russian Revoluton: Dead Meme-aloo?

Sure, let's go with that.

[Bear Stearns]

Russian culture naturally leans towards strongman figures and Vladimir Putin has thus far managed to appeal to that.

Would you really ever use this argument for as to why Latin America and Africa also tend to prefer strongmen?

[Major-Tom]

Russian culture naturally leans towards strongman figures and Vladimir Putin has thus far managed to appeal to that.

Would you really ever use this argument for as to why Latin America and Africa also tend to prefer strongmen?

One could certainly make a similar sort of argument as to why both Russia, Latin America, and many African nations tend to gravitate towards strongmen - Russia has had wild economic fluctuations and periods of great turmoil, the latter as recently as the 1990s. The same goes for swathes of Latin America & Africa. The paradox of the strongmen gravitation, though, is that overtime self-professed strongmen leaders (Caudillos in Latin America) tend to beget more instability over time, thus reinforcing the cycle.

It's tough to break.

[Valrifell]

Would you really ever use this argument for as to why Latin America and Africa also tend to prefer strongmen?

One could certainly make a similar sort of argument as to why both Russia, Latin America, and many African nations tend to gravitate towards strongmen - Russia has had wild economic fluctuations and periods of great turmoil, the latter as recently as the 1990s. The same goes for swathes of Latin America & Africa. The paradox of the strongmen gravitation, though, is that overtime self-professed strongmen leaders (Caudillos in Latin America) tend to beget more instability over time, thus reinforcing the cycle.

It's tough to break.

This is a good take, people who feel unstable want a strong guiding force to aim them, these people tend to be full of rhetoric and hot-air (usually "outsiders" to a political system that had hitherto failed), and then those strong-men destroy the system further.

Instability is cyclic, I agree.

[Salus Maior]

Russia likes its strongmen I suppose.

[Thermodolia]

Would you really ever use this argument for as to why Latin America and Africa also tend to prefer strongmen?

One could certainly make a similar sort of argument as to why both Russia, Latin America, and many African nations tend to gravitate towards strongmen - Russia has had wild economic fluctuations and periods of great turmoil, the latter as recently as the 1990s. The same goes for swathes of Latin America & Africa. The paradox of the strongmen gravitation, though, is that overtime self-professed strongmen leaders (Caudillos in Latin America) tend to beget more instability over time, thus reinforcing the cycle.

It's tough to break.

Doesn’t help that we introduced more than a few of those strongmen

[Major-Tom]

One could certainly make a similar sort of argument as to why both Russia, Latin America, and many African nations tend to gravitate towards strongmen - Russia has had wild economic fluctuations and periods of great turmoil, the latter as recently as the 1990s. The same goes for swathes of Latin America & Africa. The paradox of the strongmen gravitation, though, is that overtime self-professed strongmen leaders (Caudillos in Latin America) tend to beget more instability over time, thus reinforcing the cycle.

It's tough to break.

Doesn’t help that we introduced more than a few of those strongmen

Not at all, no.

[Bear Stearns]

Would you really ever use this argument for as to why Latin America and Africa also tend to prefer strongmen?

One could certainly make a similar sort of argument as to why both Russia, Latin America, and many African nations tend to gravitate towards strongmen - Russia has had wild economic fluctuations and periods of great turmoil, the latter as recently as the 1990s. The same goes for swathes of Latin America & Africa. The paradox of the strongmen gravitation, though, is that overtime self-professed strongmen leaders (Caudillos in Latin America) tend to beget more instability over time, thus reinforcing the cycle.

It's tough to break.

More what I'm getting at is in these types of threads, people will often explain away dictatorships in Africa or Latin America with something along the lines of "it's the fault of imperialism", as if to deny these people any agency in the creations of their own governments.

Meanwhile when it comes to Russia's authoritarianism, the explanation given is usually a toned-down form of "Russians are naturally despostic Mongol savages, it's in their nature to be dictatorial". Nobody would tolerate a similar sentiment when talking about African countries. Not that I don't disagree with the sentiment, as there is a strong undercurrent of authoritarianism in Slavic people (their diaspora communities in Western countries behave similarly), but it strikes me a bit as a double standard.

[Nuloerkun]

However, their population is only at 9th across the world, and declining. China is #1 by now, ruled by a literal Thanos.

Eventually India will replace China as top nation (before 2100, most likely), and by 2500 there will be mostly equality throughout the world. By 3000, the human population will decline to its equilibrium value of 300-500 million, distributed only according to climate and general habitability.

[Il Borgia Vaticano]

They need to restore the Romanovs already and be done with it. At least the House of Romanov has some legitimacy in its brutal rule and included leaders who actually cared about the peoples welfare like Katherine and Alexanders I and II.

"It was curious, Andrei thought, how these Russians seemed to take pride in the cruelty of their rulers, even when it was directed against themselves."~Russka by Rutherfurd

[San Lumen]

Wow what a shocking result. I’m truly stunned. :sarcasm

So predictable. Russia is a full on dictatorship at this point. There is no denying it. I wonder what is going to happen if he decides to retire or when he leaves this plane of existence

[San Lumen]

However, their population is only at 9th across the world, and declining. China is #1 by now, ruled by a literal Thanos.

Eventually India will replace China as top nation (before 2100, most likely), and by 2500 there will be mostly equality throughout the world. By 3000, the human population will decline to its equilibrium value of 300-500 million, distributed only according to climate and general habitability.

Where are you getting these numbers from?

[Vetalia]

Eventually India will replace China as top nation (before 2100, most likely), and by 2500 there will be mostly equality throughout the world. By 3000, the human population will decline to its equilibrium value of 300-500 million, distributed only according to climate and general habitability.

With how atrocious China's demographics are, I doubt they will be able to hold on much longer against India, which is now superior to China in virtually every possible economic and demographic metric aside from GDP.

[-Astoria-]

Doesn’t help that we introduced more than a few of those strongmen

Not at all, no.

Exhibit #1: a certain Mobutu.

[Sundiata]

Vladimir Putin is a man in a tough position because his country needs drastic change, the wealthy in Russia have so much whilst the poor have so little. It's a shame because more could be done by the wealthy to serve the least amongst their populace.

[Vassenor]

Why doesn't he just drop the pretence and declare himself Tsar already?

[Stellar Colonies]

Why doesn't he just drop the pretence and declare himself Tsar already?

Wouldn't want to entirely shatter his heavily smeared and cracked optics.

[Sundiata]

Why doesn't he just drop the pretence and declare himself Tsar already?

He seems to have a more liberal view in mind for Russia's future.

[-Astoria-]

Why doesn't he just drop the pretence and declare himself Tsar already?

He seems to have a more liberal view in mind for Russia's future.

In the economic sense, or in the social sense?

[Sundiata]

He seems to have a more liberal view in mind for Russia's future.

In the economic sense, or in the social sense?

In the political sense, he intends to be the last of the tsars.

[Altemoosburg II]

Hes in power until death

[The Alma Mater]

To be fair, Putin is far more capable than the past 5 or so presidents of the USA.. So perhaps this system is better.

[Sundiata]

To be fair, Putin is far more capable than the past 5 or so presidents of the USA.. So perhaps this system is better.

Not Obama or HW Bush, two very well educated men.

[Shanghai industrial complex]

Eventually India will replace China as top nation (before 2100, most likely), and by 2500 there will be mostly equality throughout the world. By 3000, the human population will decline to its equilibrium value of 300-500 million, distributed only according to climate and general habitability.

With how atrocious China's demographics are, I doubt they will be able to hold on much longer against India, which is now superior to China in virtually every possible economic and demographic metric aside from GDP.

So you don't think about environmental carrying capacity?China decided to control its population because they found that China's environment was near to collapse.A new thread can be created to discuss population, food and environmental crises.

[Shanghai industrial complex]

Why doesn't he just drop the pretence and declare himself Tsar already?

Maybe he's still a Soviet in spirit