Thursday, May 14, 2020

Bad Timing, Dude

Putin tried to rally the nation as it struggles with the Xi Jinping Flu pandemic on the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. That might backfire.

Good luck with that:

President Vladimir Putin told Russians they are "invincible" when they stand together as the country on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in lockdown from the coronavirus.

The current death toll is perhaps an uncomfortable reminder that Russia's invincibility in World War II required the death of 20-30 million Soviet subjects.

And today's Russia is far more casualty-averse than their World War II reputation would suggest:

One big difference between Putin's Russia and the Soviet Union no matter how tragic Putin believes the demise of the USSR was is that the Russian people are no longer up to suffering 30 million casualties to win a war.

Russians aren't eager to endure heavy casualties in Putin's adventures. Or even many at all, it seems, at least abroad (even in the "near abroad")[.]

It's easier to overlook the death toll of 1941-1945 when a pandemic isn't burning through your country with no end in sight.