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Suspiciously Common Russian 'Falling' Deaths

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It must be addressed; if Prigozhin replaces Putin, would the Russians be better off? Would the rest of the world?

Putin.
Ex-KGB; powerful; ruthless; known to have no care for international law; known to stamp on dissidence or even criticism. Thinks he has a MANIFEST DESTINY to rule Russia and reunite the Soviet Union. Paranoid. Apparently encouraged by Archbishop Kiril into being the saint and saviour of the Russian people. Established his power by allowing kleptocrats and oligarchs to 'influence' Russian government.
Ultimate motive is a retention of power as a 'new' Stalin.
Prigozhin.
Powerful*; ruthless; known to have no care for international law; know for brutal 'punishment' regime in his mercenary force. Was given power by Putin because of his military strength and 'independence' from government military doctrine. Holds his power (see *) over apparent care for his troops, which seem to be thrown into unexpected Ukrainian resistance without support from the military establishment. Wants to go back to being an oligarch and kleptocrat. Didn't think Ukraine a serious contender ... as most of the West.
Ultimate motive is replacement of Putin via 'puppet', so he can stop the Ukraine war with "honour", and get his overseas funds released.
 
Trevp666 said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian state army has much less advanced weaponry than a privately funded guerrilla/militia group.
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This was part of the reason why the Ukrainian offensive did so poorly, towards it's ultimate goal. Decades of military funding going into the pockets of kleptocrats, while being told of the Russian military might on paper by the higher military echelons, either guilty of that theft or too scared to tell Putin where the money's gone.
This wasn't helped by the Russian military doctrine which was based on the 'local bully' system (each unit commander being unaccountable to his superiors as long as there were *ahem* no failures) and an inability to use a combined force strategy, as each force regarded themselves as competitors for glory ... and funding.
The initial strike into Ukraine foundered because the armoured division weren't given air support, as the airforce wanted spectacular strikes to report back and not 'covering fire', the artillery relied on the infantry to get them into range to support, whereas the infantry wanted the shock and awe value of rapid deployment, and all of them suffering from poorly maintained and out-of-date materiel because the money had been stolen.
Sure they were devastating - in theory - but while they've butchered thousands of troops and civilians, they haven't enjoyed the results of a devastating sudden strike and are now on the back foot.
They might not be stamped into withdrawal but if given an opportunity to save face, they'll return as 'heroes' who faced the Western might! It will take far more time, though, than a Summer offensive. Think on the time, and loss of life, it took to push back the Germans into Germany from Europe after D-Day. This is what the Ukrainians are facing. theoretically on their own.
 
Sadly, one has to rely on the mental stability of those around the dictator overcoming their fear of disobeying.
As has happened in the past.
This is, sadly, our system now; we rely on the thoughtful to prevent the unspeakable from doing the unthinkable.
 
While Prigozhin has 'retired' to a bungalow in Belarus, presumably with a lot of cash and a tea-set - geiger counter built in, many of his troops have been 'absorbed' into the regular military. That's the same troops branded traitors by Putin. That's going to go down well with the regulars ... after their hatred of the raw recruits and conscripts they've been given.
 
Apparently this guy's training videos are hugely popular with the Russian elites:


Tragic story. Lost during a dog walk in the woods some years ago - then chewed to death by an Airedale Terrier.
 
Not falling, but suspucious:
Screenshot_20230629-063851_Twitter.jpg
 
It's classic dictator panic behaviour.
Pregozhin made the first move, got Putin scared (a lot). Paid off a mercenary with money and promises of ... staff cuts. Putin wanted Wagner troops and materiel to replace his own shite ones. Pregozhin took a cheque and went to Belarus. Putin did a Stalin and went back on the deal.
Now you have Wagner Russians defending themselves against Putin Russians. In squad-level. On a front-line.
Even if Putin completed part of the deal - getting rid of the idiot generals in charge of the regular military - he's got to big up his own reputation with the military by facing of his ex-caterer. And his ex-caterer has better troops and materiel than he does.
As I've said - both guys are smart, ruthless and without any human compunction. They should learn from Ancient Rome; the relationship between Emperor and the Praetorian Guard is well recorded.
Like Hitler ignored the Napoleon failure in cold Russia, Putin is ignoring his own weakness.
 
This a good commenter:
One of his statements is that Putin will not put competent people in top positions because they might become a threat.

 
That's one of the flaws in a dictatorship. Or even big business. You don't want to employ smart people 'cause they might take your own job.
 
A variation on the theme, or could be just a common or garden bludgeoning

Russian diplomat found ‘bludgeoned to death’​

Veteran Russian diplomat Alexander Nikolayev, 72, has died three weeks after falling victim to a mysterious attack near his country house in the Tver region.

Nikolayev, who had previously served as the senior Russian diplomat in Crimea before the region’s annexation by Vladimir Putin, was brutally beaten in an undisclosed incident.
Nikolayev was reportedly ‘covered in blood, haematomas and bruises’, and unable to breathe without a ventilator after the violent attack, his family claimed, before accusing Russian police of failing to properly investigate the assault.

Despite being rushed to one of Moscow’s top hospitals, Nikolayev remained in a coma and eventually succumbed to his injuries.

Following his work in Crimea, Nikolayev later served as the Russian ambassador to Bangladesh before transitioning to working for Rosatom, the state nuclear energy corporation, in 2016.

His murder was later highlighted by Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko as the latest in a series of suspicious deaths of those with high-ranking connections to the Russian energy sector.
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Hmmm.
A variation on the "He fell down the stairs, guv!"
"He very sadly, and unfortunately, fell over while gardening and brutally beat his own head in with a lead cosh"?
Still, if your victim lives in a bungalow, you're going to have to improvise a bit. The hit squad wanted to practice.
 

Leading Russian scientist 'dies from poisoning' in latest in string of 'mysterious' deaths​


https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1807877/russian-scientist-dies-poisoning-Vitaly-Melnikov

A prominent Russian scientist who had cooperated with US space agency NASA among others has died after being rushed to hospital with a "severe form of poisoning", it has been claimed.
Professor Vitaly Melnikov reportedly died on Wednesday aged 77, almost three weeks after he had been taken to a Moscow hospital on August 11.
The doctors' best efforts couldn't help the space scientist battle the poisoning caused by "inedible mushrooms", according to a report by a Kremlin-controlled news outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets.
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Let's face it.
The Russian government has given up worrying about it's international reputation.
It just wants to brag about its 'reach'.
 
It is not implausible because Russians are a "mycophilic" people.
(In contrast with for example the Dutch who are "mycophobic".)
 
How very ... biological.
And utterly unexpected. Were you saving that up or had time to spare researching?
(said in a light-hearted and humourous intent).
 
Herr Cloaca said:
14 August 2022 - Washington D.C.

Latvian-American Dan Rapoport, 52, was found dead in the evening of 14 August by police.
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A year later and ... nothing really has happened in the case.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/01/putin-critic-death-washington-00113695
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“There’s something here that doesn’t add up for me,” says Jason Jay Smart, a Kyiv-based American political consultant and outspoken pro-Ukraine media figure who was close with Rapoport. “Those who knew him — I’ve talked to a lot of venture capitalists — nobody is convinced he just up and decided to jump.”

“The main thing that’s happened is something that hasn’t happened: It’s that the law enforcement authorities in Washington, D.C. have not come up with anything more conclusive about what took place,” says another longtime associate, Bill Browder, the onetime Moscow financier turned bestselling Kremlin antagonist. “This is a very serious issue. He’s an American citizen who was an enemy of Vladimir Putin who came to an untimely death. That warrants a serious investigation.”
 
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