Putin's Fall?
22 March, 2022
Good evening, dear and gentle reader! As a student of history, who has focused on it during my Master's degree studies, I find that I have a deeper insight into some events, than those who do not know history. This is a blessing, and a curse. Perhaps the like is true for the dictator Putin as well.
Putin is no fool. He is obsessed with "restoring" Russia's power, yes, but certainly no fool. Surely he cannot be ignorant of the history of his own country, but perhaps he is. An astute student of Russian history could point out many times when her leaders were taken out of power, in Tsarist times, and under the Soviet regimes. Russia seems to have a fondness for this kind of transfer of power. I wonder if that thought has crossed the mind of Dictator Putin.
Ukrainian intelligence reports that already there are plans afoot within Putin's circle of power to replace him. If these reports are true, there is good reason for such. All of Putin's plans for an easy take-over of Ukraine have so far come to naught. His fear of the West, of NATO, of liberal democracy have broadened and bloomed beyond his wildest nightmare. In invading Ukraine, he thought the people would greet the Russian troops as liberators, that President Zelenskyy and his government would flee the country, that the West would be too fractured to offer any meaningful opposition. At every turn, his hopes were dashed. Now he seems content on reducing cities to rubble, terrorising and killing innocent civilians, and threatening the use of nuclear weapons in order to win. Along with strong-arming his Ukrainian enemies, he's cracking down even further on his own people in Russia and force-feeding them propaganda lies to keep them docile and obedient.
Personally, I think that Putin's time is nearing an end. I would not be surprised if the Russian technocrats in the government, along with some of the top military brass decide it's time for him to "retire", whether in a genuine retirement and removal from power, or a permanent retirement to a lonely grave. They know far better than the public in Russia the damage Putin has caused. Their economy is in a downward spiral thanks to the many sanctions imposed by the West. NATO is more united now than it has been since the end of the Cold War. Russia is being seen as a pariah state by most other nations. While other national leaders will fear Putin, none can take his words seriously due to his repeated lies. Perhaps he may still have some support from his greedy oligarchs, but they have no power against the technocrats and military. The technocrats realise that if Russia is to survive and be a respected and powerful player on the world stage, then Putin has to go. The military has been humiliated by the much smaller, but far fiercer Ukrainian forces, and they will blame Putin for it. After all, when you're an autocrat, you're the one in charge - and the one at fault.
Putin has sown the seeds of his own downfall and destruction. For the sake of peace in Ukraine, and for the sake of the Russian people, I pray it be soon. Hopefully, for the sake of the Russian people, their next leader will be a sane man, not a dangerous narcissist.
Dear and gentle reader, this coming Friday, join Pope Francis and the clergy and laity of the Catholic Church throughout the world in praying for peace through the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. May she, the Queen of Peace, bring to the suffering people of those two countries a just and lasting peace, and more importantly, Christ's peace, which the world cannot give.
As ever, dear and gentle reader, I commend you to the Immaculate Heart of our Mother, and the grace and mercy of her Divine Son. Offer a little prayer for me too, if you would be so kind.
God bless!
Father P.
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