Gulag winter (2022) with no foreseeable limits...

A Russian activist was interviewed last night on Swedish TV channel 4 in connection with the ceremony held in Moscow on the annexation of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, regions to the Romanov Empire. She, the dissident, mentioned three facts of maximum validity at the present juncture: -President Vladimir Putin seemed angry, which is not a good sign. Also, she said: -that the Kremlin political officials appointed to the newly unified colonies looked uncomfortable during the meeting with the head of state. And that, as a rule, people attending official celebrations are coerced or paid. These words reminded me of the story by Francesk Serés, (Zaidín, Spain - 1972): Elvis Presley sings in Red Square. 

Why the Déjà vu with the fictional story of the Catalan writer, for several reasons, the first referring to the system of film production of the propaganda apparatus of the party, which traveled the country by train filming fictional scenes alien to the reality that later in editions finished to perfection told the lies of the system, and the second, no doubt to see the majesty of the halls of the Kremlin, it is impossible to forget the subjugation and poverty that the Russian people have suffered throughout its history.  

A long journey, full of thorns, where Russians have had to endure all kinds of humiliations; from the inhuman era of the Romanov family, followed by the Bolshevik Revolution that transformed into a feared Stalinist autocracy that converged after the death of Leonidas Brezhnev in a series of very brief mandates of power, in a short space of time that led to the ephemeral Glasnost.  

Boris Yeltsin's physical and psychological weakness led him to commit perhaps the greatest mistake of his life by promoting Vladimir Putin as his successor (a mistake that President Yeltsin acknowledged to his counterpart Bill Clinton during the latter's state visit to Russia in March 1998). And it is here where we find ourselves today before a totalitarian president who has the world in suspense.  

At this point, we must be objective. However, President Vladimir Putin has not done well militarily, and we must also recognize that the effects of this invasion on the world economy have wreaked havoc and it is not yet known when the bottom will fall out. 

In a press conference, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, early yesterday, indicated that the terrorist attack against the Nord Stream gas pipelines is only possible to be carried out by a State due to its complexity and the explosive charge of this type of attack, capable of bringing down this type of critical infrastructures. 

Also, the Prime Minister of the Scandinavian country informed that this kind of action could not be overlooked and could not go unpunished while reiterating his unconditional support to Ukraine. He also referred to the illegitimate annexation of the provinces mentioned above to Russia and, of course, to the tightening of sanctions against the Kremlin government that will come into force soon. In short, this was the common denominator of the spokesmanship emanating from NATO, EU, US, and European leaders concerning Moscow's reckless actions of the last few hours. 

However, the most powerful message was: -Putin is cornered... 

And, here the question arises, is it wise or psychologically intelligent to tell a person who is already cornered that there is no possible way out? 

The answer could be no. There is no doubt that President Vladimir Putin is in the wrong position, both internationally and at home. In this tenor, the fears of the Russian activist converge with the recent suicide events, which indicate that there are no limits in the mind of the ideologue of this war and that he is ready for anything. According to an article by Tatiana Kastouéva-Jean published yesterday by Le Monde International: "Putin's war has entered a new and even more dangerous phase. 

In the space of a week, Russian troops have attacked with missile fire the city of Zaporizhia, in northern Ukraine, where the nuclear power plant of the same name, damaged weeks ago by artillery fire, is located, despite warnings of the danger involved. Critical infrastructure for the supply of Natural Gas to the European continent has been sabotaged.  

Putin probably has no possible way out at this point. What is left for him to do in a fit of desperation?