Little Dictator

The world has seen a lot in the past 2 years, a global pandemic, lots of lives lost, restrictions in movement, economic hardship, divisiveness in society. Despite the omicron surge in late 2021, 2022 was beginning to look like year when the world would turn a corner. But of course, it wasn't to be - in fact, it could still potentially dwarf anything that we witnessed in the past 2 years by devolving into a nuclear war propelled catastrophe. 

All because one little person was feeling a bit ignored and left out as the world was coming back into the path of continued economic recovery and progress. Putin - who at one time just seemed like yet another egomaniacal dictator has shown his final form - the Hitler wannabe. Domination of the east. He wants to protect the eastern world from the corrupt influences of the west. The same west that has seen the standard of life of its citizens go through the roof as everyday Russians under Putin struggle to make ends meet and grapple with intense social inequalities. 

What does every dictator do when faced with increasing scrutiny at home? 

First step - censor media and erase any negative portrayal of the country and its government.

Second step - pretend that the cause for all the ills facing society is a foreign entity who wants to destroy your way of life.

Third step - start a hopeless military conflict against a perceived to be weak neighboring country with the hopes of rallying your countrymen and hopefully in the process get some international attention and also some lebensraum - resources plus land which may be of value, strategic importance.

There is a little known Fourth step which follows this, mostly not out of choice of the dictator.

Fourth step - overthrown and killed or assassinated by your own military.  

Putin is on the third step and one could argue that he is making a good case for the fourth. If ordinary Russians continue to face the international backlash as Putin continues to safely cower in his bunker enjoying all the fruits Russia has to offer, it's conceivable that Russia could have its own version of the Arab spring. 

The image of the Russian military has taken a severe beating. They have come across as untrained, unorganized, weak and of course as expected - vile and heartless. They have lost several troops, generals and not to mention military hardware like tanks, aircrafts and even their flagship missile cruiser Moskva.

The days of seeing Russian men as scary, awe - inspiring badasses has been replaced with the image of brain washed, illogical, un-prepared drones following a mad man's whims to ultimately meet with death and ignominy. 

All this while, back home people are unfairly paying the price for an international boycott brought about by their whimsical dictator. The ban on Russian energy if it goes through will cripple the last leg that Russia is standing on. It will eventually lead to a complete paralysis of the country's economic system. And the hope is that it will finally propel the citizenry to take a strong stance against its despots before they become another North Korea.

The timeline for this transformation is of course not clear - but one hopes that things move fast in the light of increased level of communication in this world. Nothing is isolated, the media is everywhere and despite bans it's very clear that unrest will spread in one form or another. All it takes is for one unsuspecting drink of tea or a sip of untested bottle of water.