As we outlined yesterday (‘Tottering State’), Russia is choking on the reflux of its own ideology. A state dedicated to wars of conquest cannot sustain itself if it does not conquer. Fascist imperialism is by its own nature unstable. If it cannot fund its military adventures, it is doomed.
Russia’s leadership clique is not blind to this predicament. For years they have wanted to put a new stamp on power — to give their autocracy a new image. But so far they have not found, much less unveiled, a new frontman for their regime.
In our essay on ‘Kremlin Callbacks’ we profiled two obvious candidates. Three weeks ago both flanked ‘Putin’ at a military-industrial confab in Perm:
(First deputy prime minister Denis Manturov (left) and presidential aide Alexei Dyumin (right) with ‘Putin’ at ‘Motovilikhinskiye zavody’ – one of Russia’s oldest arms producers, founded by Empress Anna in 1736. This events took place on September 19th, 2025, which has been ‘gunsmiths’ day’ in Russia since 2011.)
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