The Kremlin’s policy of sending hundreds of thousands of Russian men, including many prisoners, to war in Ukraine with little to no training or equipment has had predictable effects back on the home front: numerous soldiers have committed violent crimes upon returning home, and the country reportedly has a critical shortage of psychologists trained to treat PTSD.
The Russian authorities have been reluctant to criticize these veterans, with Putin calling for them to become the country’s “new elite.” But according to inside sources, the Putin’s team is well aware of the risks the returnees pose and fears Russian society isn’t prepared to accept them.
And there’s historical precedence for war veterans to come back and climb political ranks, especially in less democratic countries.
It’s a lot of young men coming back from Ukraine. Some will create problems locally, as the article talks about. Others might fulfill Putin’s vision and make sure Russia will remain in the dark ages for even longer.
If this war is remembered by Russians as patriotic, as is the preferred way for Russians and most other people to remember their historical atrocities, it seems likely that a future president will be a Ukraine war veteran. With everything that entails.
I don’t see how that would be possible. Even official propaganda tries to present it as the lesser of evils or something. Even half of the official propaganda doesn’t argue that this is one big fuck up on all levels.
Maybe in 100 years.