If the past few years have taught us anything it is that all our societies are more fragile than we believe and that dictators can fall
Ben Wallace 14 January 2025 4:09pm GMT
Twenty-five years in power and Vladimir Putin has left Russia in a worse state, not better. He has sacrificed hundreds of thousands of his citizens on the altar of his own ego. He has abandoned the rule of law, persecuted his opponents, invaded countries and directed a sub-threshold war against the West.
The result, not surprisingly, is that Russia is a lesser, poorer and weaker country than when Putin first took office. It is a country that now has to go on bended knee to the ruler of North Korea for fresh cannon fodder.
It is also a country – though Putin won’t admit it – which has become a client state of China. How the mighty have fallen.
As one current leader of a former Russian ally said to me recently: “Putin is just a gangster with a gas station.”
When Putin made the foolish decision to illegally invade Ukraine, everyone was at pains inside our government – especially in the Foreign Office – to repeat the mantras, “this is not the Russian people, it is just a small clique in the Kremlin,” and “we don’t do regime change”.
Well, the past three years have shown that this criminal and fascist regime goes way beyond a few bitter old KGB men. It turns out that the Russians not only support the invasion, but they support the use of torture, mass murder, assassinations and cyberattacks.
As with Adolf Hitler’s Germany, Russia’s actions are only possible because of widespread support among its citizens. One of the features of the Soviet Union was the hundreds of Russian dissidents who bravely spoke out or campaigned from exile. This time around, the numbers who do so are in single figures. Most Russians abroad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Cyprus or the capitals of Europe believe Putin is correct (while shielding their own sons from being drafted to Ukraine).
So what is to be done with this gangster state? Well, I believe that just like other gangsters, Russia belongs behind bars: prison bars of its own making. At the moment, despite sanctions, Russia acts as if nothing has happened. Our Western capitals and private schools are still full of wealthy Putin supporters. Russia operates a “shadow” fleet of ships that enables it to export oil, cut cables and smuggle goods. Famous British brands are still being sold in Moscow – brands that we ought to consider taking action against.
So in 2025, we should make sure the West starts building the prison walls high. We should patch the holes and lock the doors. We should also use our collective diplomacy to pressure such places as Cyprus, the UAE and Switzerland to clamp down on the playgrounds of the Russian elite.
Just as we remove criminals from society, we should do the same to Russia. The irony of such actions is that it will completely counter the fake Russian narrative that Nato is poised to invade. Let’s face it – no one ever wants to break into a prison.
When Putin is revealed to have no real friends, the Godfather will look weak and, as in any other organised crime family, his days will be numbered.
There will be those who say that Putin is going nowhere. No doubt such experts have missed the collapse of Assad, the attempted coup in South Korea and the Taliban victory.
If the past few years have taught us anything it is that all our societies are more fragile than we believe and that dictators can fall.
Winston Churchill once said, “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” The Russian widows and mothers will be getting hungry soon…
The author was Def Sec under Boris and Rishi. He openly declared his ambition to be the next Nato Sec Gen. and was building up an unstoppable momentum. Biden blocked him.
It’s obvious to see why: Ben is happy to use terms like “this criminal and fascist regime.” You never see these words from Biden administration members and you won’t see them from the pending pro-ruZZia administration. Note that Trumpkov never criticizes putler, yet sneers at, derides and rubbishes Ukraine and Zel.
Like so many other bad politicians, Biden has severely tarnished his reputation, and this forever, because he’s too old to do things better.
“We should also use our collective diplomacy to pressure such places as Cyprus, the UAE and Switzerland to clamp down on the playgrounds of the Russian elite.”
That is a pet issue of mine too. I hate Switzerland and the UAE, but confess to a love of Cyprus. The Cypriots really have to purge their lovely island of putinoid scum.
Although I rarely criticize Zel because I believe him to be a great man, I fear that pressure from Trump team members caused a forced error :
“Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged the Crimea peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, would have to be restored to Ukrainian sovereignty through diplomacy.”
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-crimea-can-only-be-restored-ukraine-through-diplomacy-2024-11-21/
It’s a costly error that mirrors Cyprus. The Turks annexed the north in 1974. They will never give it back and no one will fight them for it.
The Turkish theft of North Cyprus was the fault of Greece, which had a fascist junta at the time and wanted “enosis” (union) of Greece and Cyprus. When they invaded, they started murdering Turkish Cypriots, which in turn triggered the Turks to invade.
But Ukraine has no blame whatsoever for the annexation of Crimea by putinaZi vermin. It is their land. Zel must IMHO disown that “recover by diplomacy” statement.
All Ukrainian land; and the $26 trillion of natural resources, must be restored safely into Ukrainian hands.
Comment from :
Christian Ellis
I have to disagree. Putin is indeed a gangster, and his regime is despicable, but at some point Russia has to reintegrate with the west. Hate will get all of us nowhere.
Farmer Brown
Reply to Christian Ellis –
Yes, but it can take a century or two.
John Bolwell
Our initial response was too weak. Even before he invaded, as soon as we knew he was going to, we should have asked Ukraine to invite NATO into his country for exercises, saturated Ukraine with NATO hardware and stated publicly we will leave when asked to but whilst here we will defend ourselves.
Putin would not have invaded. It is far, far cheaper to prevent war than fight one.
Jay Mullins
Ben Wallace has a consistent and clear-sighted message on Russia.
If there is a ceasefire this cannot mean a return to normal relations and trade with Russia. The decoupling and alienation of Russia must continue until the elites or the ‘Russian people’ are driven to depose Putin, or the economy is ripped apart by self-induced hyper inflation. There is always a choice, and it’s for the Russians to make, because the moral burden falls on them.
A putrid, stinking kremkrapper writes:
Hugo McEwen
You lost, you warmongering idiot.
Your sanctions didn’t cripple Russia, they destroyed the already fragile economies of Europe instead.
Your ground war ran into Russian attrition and has slowly, inexorably been ground into the Donbas mud.
Your weapons have proved to be ineffectual. Hugely expensive white elephants manufactured by a military industrial complex accustomed to decades of flat-track bullying inferior enemies.
Your American hegemon is tired out, and the new President will leave Europe -pathetic, posturing, weak, militarily inconsequential, industrially irrelevant, economically broken Europe – to support or abandon the wreckage of Ukraine, while Russia scoops up the mineral wealth of the Donbas, without which Ukraine is economically unviable.
This war has been the most disastrous strategic mistake of the modern era on the part of the West. We thought we could dethrone Putin. We lost. And yet you continue to parrot the moronic policy of a discredited, senile and beaten American President who will, thank God, be history in 5 days.
Iain MacDonald
My wife & I live in Cyprus. We have neighbours from Russia and Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon and many other places and enjoy an active community life with frequent social gatherings. The only time we ever hear anything political is from the Russians: “Putin is the devil” one said. Another did not register her two children as Russian as she was afraid what might happen to them later. All have apologised profusely ‘for being Russian’ and I have no reason to doubt their sincerity.
We literally have Russians living next door to Ukrainians and Jews next to Arabs. Sorry, Mr Wallace; but at least in this part of Cyprus you’re just plain wrong.
Andrew Gillespie
Reply to Iain MacDonald
Are you in the North?
Star comment :
Up The North
I have been saying this in these comments sections for two or more years. Russia is a slave state. Full of thugs who only want to rape torture and murder everyone who is not Russian. Putin wants his empire to go all the way to Portugal. No one in Russia is going to go against Putin. Anyone who does falls from a window or is sent Ukraine to fight. So absolutely no decent for Putin to concern himself with.
800000+ dead Russians is nothing to them. 21% interest rates and 30% inflation is just an economic bump in the road to this nation of butchers.
No wonder the Ukrainians call them orks.
Ben Len
Russia is a genuine threat to more eastern European countries. Putin hasn’t openly compared himself to Peter The Great for nothing. He only respects military strength. We have to show it with credible deterence. Re-read his essay and listen again to his one hour pre-war speech.
Kremtroll shithead :
Colin Harris
I think you should study the situation from both sides, Mr Wallace. Russia has been on the back foot since Nato started expanding eastwards in spite of guarantees to the contrary. The Democrats (Obama and Biden/Obama) have been unwisely pushing for change in Ukraine recently led by a fanatic who deprived his Russian-speaking people from speaking … Russian. George W Bush and Tony Blair did as much damage in the Middle East and perhaps more, but you are not calling for their arrests or the incarceration of Americans.
Phil Dawes
Reply to Colin Harris
Well done ‘Colin’. An extra half of beetroot for you tonight. Enjoy!
Robert Alan Sutton
Reply to Colin Harris
No. He is calling for people like you to be put back in their box. And agree with him.
Russia now will be on the back foot kowtowing to the Chinese and kneeling to the Indians. I hope you enjoy it.
Hugo has his head stuck deeply in the sand, that’s for sure, and it seems like he’d prefer to have it up putler’s ass.
“Putin is just a gangster with a gas station.”
That’s it. Period. And, that’s why he’s going to lose.