Ben — Putin is not stupid, merely severely constrained and ambitious.

There was zero possibility of internal reform because that would have impoverished the thug network that runs Russia. See also: Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, Mexico, etc. Rule of law, private property, anti-corruption, all would profoundly threaten the thugs who take rather than work.

You don’t honestly expect thugs to work for a living do you?

Putin’s “Last Man Standing” strategy is the only one he could play with the constraints of thugs needing constant paydays that increase all the time, up against provocatively weak Western nations and publics.

Putin is rolling the dice that he doesn’t have to be good, perfect, or even efficient. Just “smart” in KGB-like, making Russia useful to Iran and AQ, setting them against the US (with the hoped-for loss of several US cities) so that the US is weakened, his rivals Iran and AQ destroyed (it’s pretty clear AQ had some assistance to Chechens in Beslan, Nord-Ost, the Moscow Apt. bombings), China weakened (no US customer to buoy the rural part out of poverty), and Russia the LAST MAN STANDING.

It’s risky. But it’s virtue is that it does not depend on Russia being smart and well executing plans, merely encouraging lunatic regimes in their imperial desires to attack the US.