JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Will Russia Without Putin Look Like? Maybe This.” – New York Times
“Russia’s current condition — militarized, isolated, corrupt, dominated by the security services and hemorrhaging talent as hundreds of thousands flee abroad to escape service in a horrific war — is bleak. In hopes of an end to this grim reality, some wait expectantly for … Putin to leave office. To change the country, however, it is not enough for [] Putin to die or step down. Russia’s future leaders must dismantle and transform the structures over which he has presided for more than two decades. The challenge, to say the least, is daunting. … For now, with most of Russia’s population forced into quiescence while others lose their jobs or freedom for expressing dissent, the possibility of the country’s transformation appears remote. Change, however, can come when it’s least expected. …”