>They can’t maintain a regime that sacrifices the majority of the population. If they do so, they’ll be kings of… nothing.
Judging by excess deaths, Russia lost 1 million people to Corona[0]. The government's response is either nothing, or saber-rattling in Ukraine (depending whether you buy the view of their recent actions as a domestic distraction).
It's always been very difficult to overestimate the indifference of the Russian government to its own populace's well being, especially when they gain monetaraily and internationally from being indifferent.
You should start the analysis from the population and its reality. Even Staline and Krutchev didn’t manage to get rid of high vodka consumption and alcoholism, where Putin managed while being less brutal. And he’s still popular among the population.
I mean there that usually we judge them by our own values, but you need to take into account their reality.
They built a great scientific elite over the last century but on the other hand, the rest of the population is not worth more than a third country’s one in terms of education, work and “lumières ethics”. And that gap is huge.
They can’t maintain a regime that sacrifices the majority of the population. If they do so, they’ll be kings of… nothing.