NEWSWATCH: “Russia Celebrates an Uncomfortable Centennial” – Stratfor.com

November 10, 2017 JRL Russia List History, Soviet Union, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

File photo of Czar Nicholas II in Military Uniform Outdoors with Soldiers in Background, adapted from image at defense.gov

“The centennial anniversary of the launch of the Russian Revolution on Nov. 7 will serve as a haunting reminder for Russia’s current leaders that their power is finite. … a year after Russia observed the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, a similarly unsettling marker for the [Putin] government … facing opposition from within its own ranks and on the ground. * * * For an astute student of history such as Putin, it’s clear that Russia today resembles Russia just before the Bolshevik Revolution. … Putin seems to be bracing for what is to come, entrenching loyalists within his government and boosting … security forces. … the world wonders if Putin will be able to pass on power as seamlessly as he took it. Even if he succeeds, such a leadership transition wouldn’t necessarily unite a divided and disaffected Russia, and an eventual bloody end to the Russian Federation — just like that came to the Russian monarchy and the Soviet Union — cannot be ruled out.”