16 April 2026
2026-04-16 | UPDATES #174 | Putin’s wrecked economy – the grandfather in the Kremlin and the elite who want him gone. Yesterday, in a Kremlin meeting room, Vladimir Putin looked across a table at his own ministers and Central Bank chief Elvira Nabiullina — and demanded that they explain to him, in plain Russian, why the economy he built, the war machine he fuelled, the “fortress” he promised, is cracking under his feet. Maybe he is not recognising the full extent of the problem – maybe he is not being told the full extent of the problem – but he is starting to acknowledge that there is a problem. The source of the problem is of course his disastrous war, his kleptocratic regime, global ambitions – but none of these will be admitted to.
The debate inside the “elite” of the cauldron of devilry is not about how to end the war, it’s about getting rid of one cancerous psychopath and replacing him with another.
The chances of a liberal revolution remain at a tiny fraction of 1%.
That’s why I hope for a collapse of the shithole and then a disintegration into many insignifacant little countries and regions.