When Putin began his first term in office…
When Putin began his first term in office in 1999, he asked the then outgoing president Boris Yeltsin if he had any advice for him since he, Putin had no prior experience in politics but Yeltsin certainly new about it, especially uprisings and government overthrows!
Yeltsin reportedly handed him two envelopes and said, if things go bad, open the first envelope. If things go really really bad, open the second envelope.
In 1999 till early 2000, things got really bad, The Central bank defaulted in 1998 and the effects were felt everywhere, unemployment was rife, stores were empty and people were in the streets hungry, angry and protesting.
In desperation, Putin reached for the bottom drawer and pulled out the first envelope, in a small note, it was typewritten “Blame your predecessor”.
Putin blamed Boris Yeltsin, his predecessor for the woes of Russia, the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the biggest disaster in its history and told his compatriots to give him time and power and he would make Russia great again.
It is now 2023, with The Central bank at near default, people protesting in the streets, economy in shambles, and a war that isn’t going well, I hope Putin hasn’t forgotten the second envelope in the bottom drawer.
In that second envelope, there is a neatly typewritten note with the message;
“Prepare two envelopes.”