“There is no sign of any immediate threat to (Vladimir) Putin’s rule, although Moscow is rife with rumours of impending martial law and border closures,” comments The Economist. Fatalistic acceptance is widespread, just as it was during the pandemic, when perhaps 1m Russians perished without any uproar. But a businessman describes a growing sense of his vulnerability by quoting from “The Jungle Book”, a classic British children’s novel that is apparently a favourite of Mr Putin: “When a leader of the Pack has missed his kill, he is called the Dead Wolf as long as he lives, which is not long.” Even if that proves wishful thinking, no one would have said it a few months ago.
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