Russia without Putin not necessarily a good thing

"According to the Russian Interfax news agency, suicide bombers had plotted to kill Vladimir Putin during his visit to Iran", notes Mary Dejevsky as the Russian president heads for Tehran on Tuesday October 16th. "There is a broad swathe of Western opinion that regards Putin as a malign force in Russia and abroad. They would not go so far as to engineer his departure from this life but, if it were somehow to happen, they would not shed many tears. They would instead hail the bright new future, assuming that without Putin, Russia would be a mere hop, skip and jump away from embracing no-holds-barred democracy, signing up to 'universal values' and beaming beatifically on the world. Such thoughts might be agreeable, but they are utterly delusional. ... Those tempted to believe, even fleetingly, that a Russia without Putin would be either safer or better, must be more careful about what they wish for.”

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