I do not think Vladimir Putin is stupid. But I do think that power can corrupt the mind as easily as it corrupts the heart and that hubris invites nemesis.
Russia’s campaign in Ukraine already is a fiasco. The Russians are turning to mass murder — and that’s what targeting residential buildings and hospitals is — because Putin is unable to achieve his actual political goal. As others have observed in these pages, history shows that Russians are hard on leaders who lose.
There are not very many ways for a gangster like Putin to go out: Joseph Stalin died in his pajamas, a rare achievement for a man such as he. Nicolae Ceaușescu . . . ended badly. Saddam Hussein, too.
Why not go to Dubai? Pervez Musharraf seems to be enjoying it. King Juan Carlos moved there after his abdication. There’s a whole little club of former national leaders in Dubai, and Vladimir Putin would surely cut a commanding figure among them. They could have a weekly poker game or something.
Lots of sunshine in Dubai, and not a lot of extraditions.
Really: Putin should consider Dubai. Take the money and run. Get Ahmed Saleh to recommend a good real-estate agent.
Because Putin probably is not going to die in his pajamas in Russia.