Jag läste en intressant artikel om Putin och hur det kan komma sig att han är där han är:

Mr. Putin no longer meets with his buddies for drinks and barbecues, according to people who know him. In recent years — and especially since the start of the pandemic — he has cut off most contacts with advisers and friends. While he used to look like an emperor who enjoyed playing on the controversies of his subjects, listening to them denounce one another and pitting them against one another, he is now isolated and distant, even from most of his old entourage.

His guards have imposed a strict protocol: No one can see the president without a week’s quarantine — not even Igor Sechin, once his personal secretary, now head of the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Mr. Sechin is said to quarantine for two or three weeks a month, all for the sake of occasional meetings with the president.

Ensamhet kan vara farligt. Kanske ännu mer så om man styr ett helt land och landet heter Ryssland. Vill du läsa hela New York Times-artikeln finns den här (bör inte vara kräva prenumeration om du använder den här länken):

» How Vladimir Putin Lost Interest in the Present

[Foto av Jørgen Håland på Unsplash]