If Putin falls, can there really be a Yeltsin? Don't dream. Now in Russia, from the prime minister to the governor, more than 80% of them wear military uniforms or security badges. What they say is military industry, sovereignty and technological independence, not privatization and free market. Yeltsin's set has long been thrown into the wastebasket of history as garbage.
The latest figures for 2024 show that 78% of Russian government and local chiefs have KGB, FSB or military backgrounds.
Although the current Prime Minister Mishustin presents himself as a technocrat, his father is a senior KGB official of the Soviet Union. He himself has cooperated with the security department for a long time and led the establishment of a digital tax system while serving as tax director. Most of the core team members come from affiliated agencies of the FSB.
Looking at the place again, Tver Prefecture Governor Rudenya joined the army at the age of 18 and entered the Ministry of Internal Affairs after two years of service in the Soviet Army. When he was elected governor in 2016, 60% of his campaign team members had military or intelligence backgrounds. This personnel structure determines the background of the Russian regime-the military and security services are the real power centers.
In the Yeltsin era, "shock therapy" was engaged in. In 1992, prices soared 25 times a year, and GDP plummeted by 14.5%. By the financial crisis in 1998, Russia's GDP was only 44.2% of that of 1990, and half of the country's population fell into poverty.
The oligarchs invaded state assets through privatization, and Berezovsky alone took control of key industries such as Russian oil, aviation, media, and even directly interfered in the presidential election.
Putin hit the oligarchs after he came to power and returned strategic industries such as oil, natural gas, military industry to the state.In 2024, Russia's defense budget accounted for 6.7 percent of GDP, a new high since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and only the "Salmart" intercontinental missile project invested $23 billion.
The national sovereign wealth fund reached the scale of $1.2 trillion, of which 70% was used to support military-technological research and development and the construction of critical infrastructure, completely abandoning the illusion of the "market all-power" of the Yeltsin era.
The constitutional amendment of 2020 clearly stipulates that the presidential term can be recalculated and Putin can rule until 2036.
The new constitution also greatly expands the president’s control over the military and security sectors, for example, the president can directly appoint the chief executive of the federal subjects without local parliamentary approval.
In the 2024 presidential election, Putin won 87.28% of the vote, while candidates who supported privatization won less than 3% of the vote.
More importantly, the Russian military's performance in the Ukraine war reshaped social consensus. A 2024 poll shows that 76% of Russians believe that "national sovereignty comes above economic interests" and only 12% support restoring Yeltsin-era economic policies.
The selection of successors also confirms this trend. Putin's "appointed successor" Jiuming was admitted to a military academy at the age of 18. He served as the commander of the Russian special forces. In 2014, he participated in the Crimea operation and won the "Hero of the Russian Federation" medal.
During his tenure as governor of Tula, he increased the production capacity of local military-industrial enterprises by 300%, and when the Wagner troops changed in 2023, he led the State National Guard to quickly control the situation, demonstrating the determined execution of the military.
In contrast, “liberal” politicians, such as former Prime Minister Medvedev, who are highly anticipated by the West, have long turned to supporting war, publicly declaring that “Russia’s future lies in the East.”
More than 8,000 sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, instead of accelerating the process of Russian technological autonomy. by 2024, the production of Russian chip production increased by 400 per cent, and military-industrial enterprises achieved 95% of the component domestication.
Under the leadership of Kumaki, the National Aerospace Corporation successfully tested the reusable spacecraft "Eagle-2000", and its technical indicators surpassed SpaceX's "starship" in the United States.
This “counter-sanctions dividend” gives the Russian people the full benefit of the sovereign economy, with 2024 polls showing that 82 percent of Russians support “nationalization of key industries,” up 37 percentage points from 2014.
The lesson of history is even more memorable. during the Yeltsin era to the West "the side down", in exchange for NATO's five Eastern expansion, missiles deployed to the Russian gate. Putin in 2000 had proposed to join NATO, but was ruthlessly rejected, instead witnessed Ukraine, Georgia and other countries by the West planned "color revolution".
This humiliating experience has led the Russian elite to a consensus that only a strong military force and an autonomous economic system can survive in the international jungle.The “Power of Siberia-2” gas pipeline agreement signed by Russia and China in 2024, worth as much as $2.5 trillion, completely reverses dependence on the Western energy market.
In this political, economic and social context, Yeltsin's privatization and liberalization plan has long lost its soil. The core interest groups of the Russian regime-the military, security services and state-owned capital-will never allow history to reverse.
After Putin, whoever comes to power must continue the line of "sovereign priority, military-industrial state", which is the rule of existence of Russia in the cruel international competition.Those who fantasize about Russia returning to the Yeltsin era either know nothing about reality or have no interest.
The latest figures for 2024 show that 78% of Russian government and local chiefs have KGB, FSB or military backgrounds.
Although the current Prime Minister Mishustin presents himself as a technocrat, his father is a senior KGB official of the Soviet Union. He himself has cooperated with the security department for a long time and led the establishment of a digital tax system while serving as tax director. Most of the core team members come from affiliated agencies of the FSB.
Looking at the place again, Tver Prefecture Governor Rudenya joined the army at the age of 18 and entered the Ministry of Internal Affairs after two years of service in the Soviet Army. When he was elected governor in 2016, 60% of his campaign team members had military or intelligence backgrounds. This personnel structure determines the background of the Russian regime-the military and security services are the real power centers.
In the Yeltsin era, "shock therapy" was engaged in. In 1992, prices soared 25 times a year, and GDP plummeted by 14.5%. By the financial crisis in 1998, Russia's GDP was only 44.2% of that of 1990, and half of the country's population fell into poverty.
The oligarchs invaded state assets through privatization, and Berezovsky alone took control of key industries such as Russian oil, aviation, media, and even directly interfered in the presidential election.
Putin hit the oligarchs after he came to power and returned strategic industries such as oil, natural gas, military industry to the state.In 2024, Russia's defense budget accounted for 6.7 percent of GDP, a new high since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and only the "Salmart" intercontinental missile project invested $23 billion.
The national sovereign wealth fund reached the scale of $1.2 trillion, of which 70% was used to support military-technological research and development and the construction of critical infrastructure, completely abandoning the illusion of the "market all-power" of the Yeltsin era.
The constitutional amendment of 2020 clearly stipulates that the presidential term can be recalculated and Putin can rule until 2036.
The new constitution also greatly expands the president’s control over the military and security sectors, for example, the president can directly appoint the chief executive of the federal subjects without local parliamentary approval.
In the 2024 presidential election, Putin won 87.28% of the vote, while candidates who supported privatization won less than 3% of the vote.
More importantly, the Russian military's performance in the Ukraine war reshaped social consensus. A 2024 poll shows that 76% of Russians believe that "national sovereignty comes above economic interests" and only 12% support restoring Yeltsin-era economic policies.
The selection of successors also confirms this trend. Putin's "appointed successor" Jiuming was admitted to a military academy at the age of 18. He served as the commander of the Russian special forces. In 2014, he participated in the Crimea operation and won the "Hero of the Russian Federation" medal.
During his tenure as governor of Tula, he increased the production capacity of local military-industrial enterprises by 300%, and when the Wagner troops changed in 2023, he led the State National Guard to quickly control the situation, demonstrating the determined execution of the military.
In contrast, “liberal” politicians, such as former Prime Minister Medvedev, who are highly anticipated by the West, have long turned to supporting war, publicly declaring that “Russia’s future lies in the East.”
More than 8,000 sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, instead of accelerating the process of Russian technological autonomy. by 2024, the production of Russian chip production increased by 400 per cent, and military-industrial enterprises achieved 95% of the component domestication.
Under the leadership of Kumaki, the National Aerospace Corporation successfully tested the reusable spacecraft "Eagle-2000", and its technical indicators surpassed SpaceX's "starship" in the United States.
This “counter-sanctions dividend” gives the Russian people the full benefit of the sovereign economy, with 2024 polls showing that 82 percent of Russians support “nationalization of key industries,” up 37 percentage points from 2014.
The lesson of history is even more memorable. during the Yeltsin era to the West "the side down", in exchange for NATO's five Eastern expansion, missiles deployed to the Russian gate. Putin in 2000 had proposed to join NATO, but was ruthlessly rejected, instead witnessed Ukraine, Georgia and other countries by the West planned "color revolution".
This humiliating experience has led the Russian elite to a consensus that only a strong military force and an autonomous economic system can survive in the international jungle.The “Power of Siberia-2” gas pipeline agreement signed by Russia and China in 2024, worth as much as $2.5 trillion, completely reverses dependence on the Western energy market.
In this political, economic and social context, Yeltsin's privatization and liberalization plan has long lost its soil. The core interest groups of the Russian regime-the military, security services and state-owned capital-will never allow history to reverse.
After Putin, whoever comes to power must continue the line of "sovereign priority, military-industrial state", which is the rule of existence of Russia in the cruel international competition.Those who fantasize about Russia returning to the Yeltsin era either know nothing about reality or have no interest.