# Has Putin mentally deteriorated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179 "2022-02-27T05:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/41 "2022-02-27T23:05:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I feel Putin just saw a war with Ukraine as something that would benefit him in 2022. When you don’t allow your strongest opponents to run, you order the stuffing of ballot boxes, and you engage in other election monkeyshines, you don’t have to worry about what would benefit you in the next election. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/42 "2022-02-27T23:12:01Z")
I wonder what offer that could be. BTW: One of the reasons Putin did not lean on Lukaschenko to become an active asset is that he did not need him. Just his existence, like the existence of Kazachstan, Uzbekistan, Kirgistan and all the other corrupt Former Soviet Republics were a second hand justification of his regime strong enough to not have to interfere too brazenly. Now I don’t know whether he needs Belarus or not, but he seems to have decided he does, tactically. BTW: Kazachstan had bad troubles four weeks ago and Putin sent troops to re-instate the local despot President [Kassym-Jomart Tokayev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kassym-Jomart_Tokayev) (yes! I can get away with this!!! Like with Lukaschenko! A good dictator is the dictator that stays in power!), but yesterday when Putin asked for his troops he refused: > **[Kazakhstan turns its back on Putin and refuses to send troops to Ukraine to...](https://smartencyclopedia.org/2022/02/27/kazakhstan-turns-its-back-on-putin-and-refuses-to-send-troops-to-ukraine-to-fight-alongside-the-russian-army/)** > > Russia asked Kazakhstan for help in sending troops to Ukraine. Central Asian country rejected as well as refused to recognize the independence of the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. That is, I hope, revealing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/43 "2022-02-27T23:15:25Z")
I dispute the premise that Putin was ever rational. He has a kind of ruthless cunning, shared with all autocrats. He has an intuition about the pressure points that people respond to, and a complete willingness to apply them, regardless of ethics or morality or humanity. But rationality requires, above all else, a kind of introspection. You must pit ideas against each other, be willing to accept that your ideas are wrong, accept outside input, look at all available evidence, and so on. It’s a slow and imperfect process and still doesn’t always get you what you want. An autocrat’s cunning is impulsive and based on getting a read of a situation. I don’t think Putin has a single speck of introspection in him. It works, until it doesn’t. Getting an accurate read also requires good information, but the autocrat doesn’t know this; they trust their instinct but don’t know how that instinct operates. They isolate themselves, and their intuition doesn’t work as well, but they’re told otherwise and wouldn’t believe anyone that said they were making bad decisions anyway. Putin has said he doesn’t want a return of the Soviet Union, but I don’t think that means he doesn’t want a new Russian Empire–what he wants only differs in the details. It’s complete and utter lunacy, of course. It’s not possible or desirable. He’s had over two decades to give Russia a soft landing into being a respected regional power. They have immense natural resources and a well-educated population. They cannot turn into a China or US, but they could have been well on their way to being a respectable European nation. Instead, Putin focused solely on becoming a petrostate and funnelled the proceeds to oligarchs. The sad irony for me is that one of the true, indisputable glories of the Soviet Union was their space program. Many firsts, and no small number of “onlys” (for instance, they are still the only nation to take pictures from the surface of Venus). But Putin put an absolute moron in charge of their program, cut funding, and now it is nearly a laughingstock. It’s an incredible fall from their start. Putin doesn’t seem to care–he has some vision of glory that is at odds with their actual record. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/44 "2022-02-27T23:28:10Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > > [@Duckster](#): > > > > If Putin is indeed irrational, he’s taking the entire world to the abyss: > > > > [Putin puts Russia's nuclear forces on alert as fighting in Ukraine continues - CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-invasion-war-putin-nuclear-forces-high-alert/) > > Alternatively could Putin be a fan of [Nixon’s Madman theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory)? That’s probably it. “I’m so crazy I might shoot off nuclear missiles unless you stop thwarting me”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/45 "2022-02-27T23:32:40Z")
Well according to Putin NATO leaders are talking bad about the Russian attack on the Ukraine and he feels threatened. So escalating the nuke threat is 100% logical. Yep, Putin might be another Stable Genius at this point. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/46 "2022-02-27T23:38:42Z")
> [@XT](#): > > But this is still early days, and Russia hasn’t exactly sent in even all the forces it has staged up for this invasion. They haven’t even sent in most of them, nor are they using all of the assets they have at their disposal. Yeah, as has been mentioned elsewhere, the Russians seem to be to an extent “pulling their punches”. Probably because of the expectation… > [@XT](#): > > to kick over the rotting structure of Ukraine, that they would collapse IIRC the last time armored columns were rolling across the Dniepr plain in anger, a prediction along those lines was also made that did not age well… ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/47 "2022-02-27T23:39:35Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > IIRC the last time armored columns were rolling across the Dniepr plain in anger, a prediction along those lines was also made that did not age well… Exactly the reference I was thinking of when I wrote that… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/48 "2022-02-27T23:42:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The recent baseless decision to put his nuclear arsenal on high alert would seem to indicate a paranoid-delusional personality. I can only thank the gods that we have adult leadership in the White House during this mess. This, more than anything else, is what tells me that the spin about Russian troops not being as effective as expected is more accurate. Reaching so soon for the big weapons is a sign to me that the Russians may win in the end, but now it looks more like a [Pyrrhic victory.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/49 "2022-02-28T00:54:34Z")
I just hope Putin isn’t holed up in his office, doing lines of coke while watching the last few minutes of “Scarface” on DVD. “Say hello to my little friend!” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/50 "2022-02-28T00:55:44Z")
I’m very fearful of what this asshole is willing to do if his back is really up against the wall. Especially if he’s pretty sure they’re about to line him up against the wall for a 21 gun salute. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/51 "2022-02-28T01:50:59Z")
FWIW, a freelance designer in Russia I do business with just sent me an email prefaced with, “As I’m sure you’re aware, our president just went nuts and invaded Ukraine…” Collecting payment from her mostly Western clientele is going to be a challenge and she’s really pissed. I think it’s safe to say a large number of Putin’s countrymen think he’s crazy. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/52 "2022-02-28T02:12:02Z")
According to the EU foreign policy chief, most of the reserves of the Russian central bank….are out of reach of the EU and the western aliased, since Czar Vlad has been moving them out for the past year. > ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/53 "2022-02-28T02:15:34Z")
Yeah, I figured that was the case, and I’m sure it didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/54 "2022-02-28T02:26:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > We’ll have to disagree. I don’t think that has been an achievable plan since well before the end of the Cold War. As you note, we disagree. But I don’t see this as an unachievable plan. The United States certainly has installed plenty of compliant dictators and Russia has as well. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/55 "2022-02-28T02:50:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > So basically, Cossack warfare - send a whole bunch of bands of light cavalry to rampage behind the enemy lines How well can that work if NATO is giving every bit of intel we can gather to Ukraine? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/56 "2022-02-28T04:10:50Z")
Not to you or me but apparently it did surprise EU leaders since they had the “latest” figure, which showed about half held overseas. Unfortunately that was correct till last June 30. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/57 "2022-02-28T04:22:05Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I think people are getting way ahead of themselves with some of this. Indeed. [https://twitter.com/mapsukraine/status/1498126799343083528?s=21](https://twitter.com/mapsukraine/status/1498126799343083528?s=21) Kyiv is close to being encircled and Ukraine is fast becoming a landlocked country. The strategic picture has been getting grimer by the day > [@XT](#): > > I think that the Russians had hoped that a minimal force, backed by their breakaway allies would be enough to kick over the rotting structure of Ukraine, that they would collapse and that Russia could swoop in, take some territory directly and install a new puppet in its place. Surely if they thought Ukraine was that fragile, they would have used fast and concentrated forces? The man who made the originals observation certainly did. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/58 "2022-02-28T04:42:24Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > > [@XT](#): > > > > I think people are getting way ahead of themselves with some of this. > > Indeed. From the Guardian: > [@](#): > > - **Satellite imagery taken on Sunday showed a large deployment of Russian ground forces including tanks moving in the direction of the capital Kyiv** from approximately 40 miles (64 km) away. The city remains in Ukrainian hands. The images released by Maxar Technologies showed a deployment comprising hundreds of military vehicles and extending more than 3.25 miles (5km), the company said. The convoy contained fuel, logistics and armoured vehicles including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery, it said. > **[Ukraine: what we know on day five of Russia’s invasion](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/ukraine-what-we-know-on-day-five-of-russias-invasion)** > > Dozens killed and hundreds wounded in Russian rocket strikes on Kharkiv, as rouble crashes in wake of global sanctions ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/59 "2022-02-28T05:15:24Z")
More Cannae on a regional scale. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179/60 "2022-02-28T05:16:01Z")
Encircling Kiev doesn’t mean the war is over. Stalingrad was encircled for months. Unless Russia conjures up enough troops to occupy the entire country, they’re going to be fighting for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-putin-mentally-deteriorated/960179.md?page=4)