E-Paper
Vladimir Putin not superhero can be ousted if…: Ex- Russia diplomat's prediction
Russia-Ukraine War: "Putin can be replaced. He's not a superhero. He doesn't have any superpowers. He's just an ordinary dictator," said Boris Bondarev said.
Vladimir Putin may be forced out of power should Russia be defeated in his war against Ukraine, a former Russian diplomat told Newsweek. Should Putin be unable to win the war on his preferred terms, he may eventually be forced to step down, Boris Bondarev asserted.
Read more: China an ‘epoch-defining challenge’ to security: Rishi Sunak
"Putin can be replaced. He's not a superhero. He doesn't have any superpowers. He's just an ordinary dictator," said Boris Bondarev said.
"And we have if we look at history, we see that such dictators have been replaced from time to time. So usually, if they lose the war, and they could not satisfy the needs of the supporters, they usually went away," he added.
The former diplomat also said that if Russians understand that the war is lost, and Putin has nothing to offer them in exchange, there will be "disappointment and disagreement."
Read more: How to deal with aging population? China's raise retirement age plan: Report
“They might think they don't need Putin anymore. I think that once they say farewell to the delusions, and find themselves in a new reality where Putin cannot deliver anything—only fear and some kind of threat of repression against his own people—that will change the situation,” he said.
Vlad Mykhnenko, an expert in the post-communist transformation of Eastern Europe told Newsweek, "A lot, if not all, hinges on the manner of the defeat, adding, “The situation in Moscow will proceed rapidly, with the siloviki pushing Putin out of power. He would not have a chance to deploy a nuclear weapon, as many fear, for that order will surely be sabotaged on multiple levels.”
