The Eurasia Review interviewed a German businessman Franz J. Sedelmayer who knows Russia well and Putin personally. He confirmed that Russia was unstable and that the removal of Putin or leaving Putin in power would not change anything in case in the doomed Russia.
At the same time, he gave the demonstrators an advice on how to destabilize Putin as a person. The expert on Russia pointed out in particular:
"I developed a close working relationship with Vladimir Putin when he was an assistant of Sobchak.
It is not a wise move for Putin to run for President, as he will be poison for the country. The people are disgruntled, and he knows that they are disgruntled, requiring an even heavier level of control over sources of influence.
When Putin comes back as president, I believe we will see the flight of more people, more brains, and more money leaving the country without a return ticket.
If Putin would really be reelected as president in March 2012 he will, in order to stay in control for the whole duration of his term, restrict the freedom of the Russian people even more harsh; possibly to rival the situation as it has existed under the communists in the 1970's. The Russian people are fully aware of that danger!
The crisis in Russia is not just limited to Putin the person, but the people who work around him. By nature, a dominant and charismatic personality like Putin is not going to surround himself with very capable people. That actually describes the whole situation in Russia today, whether you are talking about the FSB, the bureaucracy, or the nachalniki that control the cities and regions.
These are not exactly the brain surgeons and rocket scientists of Russia - these are people who jumped on the bandwagon of Putin's party, just like the same type of people who jumped on the bandwagon of the Communist Party for decades.
It's a complete myth that Putin's Russia is stable. The lack of control over the country is the same as back in the Czar's days - "the heavens are high and Moscow is far." It is sheer logistics that do not allow a vertical line of power from the Kremlin to all the cities and the villages in the faraway regions, requiring Moscow to relinquish wide ranging discretion to locals.
My advice, welcome or unwelcome, coming from a foreigner with some experience dealing with Putin, is that his biggest weak spot is that he hates comedy.
If anybody wanted to destabilize Putin, comedy is the best weapon they have. You cannot insult the man, you cannot pressure the man, but you can ridicule the man.
Have you ever heard Putin tell a joke? The very first thing he did as Prime Minister was to cancel the most popular political satire show.
I would describe these as delusions of grandeur, but he cannot live with the idea that people out there are not taking him seriously. Putin does not break out into rage unless it is issues like that - it's his Achilles heel".
Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center
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