Byzantine and Machiavellian

The leaders of Russia in all its incarnations have never been easy to read. Some like Stalin were easier to decipher than others. Papa Joe murdered his way up the ranks, then slaughtered to retain his power, but even he was not merely a "blunt instrument", but a more complex scheming destroyer. Just look at how he formed an alliance with Hitler to divide Poland, before an even more devious snake turned on him. Putin is no Stalin (at least not yet) but is a paranoiac himself and seeming deluded into thinking he can be a Czar of this century. What Putin has done and is doing is unpredictable and dangerous. What may have just been done to him by rebelling Wagner mercenaries was not on everyone's map. Many mothers of Russian conscripts wish the revolt ha been sustained and successful, because removing Putin might well be the best way to save the sons of Russia. Only the Lord knows what the future holds for the long-suffering Russians.