The future leader of Russia must do this

Putin will die, sooner or later. The “later” scenario is pretty daunting — it can be decades. And if you’re a pessimist, you’ll argue that there is no guarantee that there will be a different type of character after him.

“Different type of character”.

This is what I want to talk about.

Let’s imagine there will be a new leader who will want to fix the violent patterns in Russia’s history once and for all. By “violent”, among other things, I’m referring to merciless crimes against its own people. I’m not a historian but I’m sure History Channel could make a fascinating series about how Russia’s secret services hunted and killed its “enemies”.

Trotsky — hunted down by NKVD (the then-secret service) in Mexico and fatally struck with an ice axe.

Litvinenko — poisoned by radiation in London.

Nemtsov — assassinated in central Moscow.

Magnitsky — beaten, died while in custody.

Navalny — poisoned mid-air.

The list above is the tip of the iceberg.

Stalin’s purges and great terror, the Soviet Union’s attack on dissidents, Putin’s latest rule of fear. We are talking about tens of millions being oppressed, hunted, and often murdered. The pattern is recurring.

Think also of the Stasi in Eastern Germany, one of the darkest secret service organizations to ever exist. Enemies everywhere: