Putin needs war to maintain his power, says international politics expert Hanna Smith.
19.12. 22:22•Updated 19.12. 23:06
– Putin needs war to stay in power, estimates an expert in international politics Hannah Smith Ylen in A-Talk.
Smith reminds that Russia’s economy is based on the country going to war. Russia’s current economic situation is mainly explained by the production of ammunition, weapons and military equipment.
Neither does Finland’s former ambassador to Russia Hannu Himanen does not see disengagement from the war as possible for Putin.
– Putin has backed himself into a corner economically.
Under the guise of war, laws have been enacted to blackmail and imprison those who disagree with the administration. The end of the war, on the other hand, could raise embarrassing questions for Putin.
– Someone could start asking why the number of dead is not reported and why investments are still made in the defense industry, Hanna Smith estimates.
Smith reminds us that Putin’s stay in power is not certain. It is possible that Putin will experience the same fate as the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Rebels seized power from al-Assad’s regime earlier in December.
– Putin fears Assad’s fate the most.
Story edited on 19.12. at 23:05. Hanna Smith and not Hannu Himanen evaluates the questions that follow after the end of the war.
Russia threatens the West more and more harshly. Does the West have enough strength to increase pressure on Putin? And what kind of picture of the Russian threat is painted by Finland’s first NATO-era defense report published today? Watch all of Thursday’s A-Talk on Areena.