>

This shit is like saying if Hitler was assassinated in 1942 Germany would unconditionally surrender. 
The war would continue and Goering would take over since he was already declared the successor.
So would Putin's removal and someone sane taking his place >

The above is a realistic scenario, this....is not.
Russia can't function without a dictatorship, their society is just too stratified. >

Yeah. We mistakenly think 'Remove Putin and Russia can heal'
The root problem though, is Putin is a symptom of Russia's dysfunction and top to bottom corruption. Russia produces Putins, not the other way around. Russia won't change without rooting out that corruption, it'll just have a new mob boss. >

Agree with this whole thread. Russia should split into its clearly defined regions, each with their own governance, like the rest of the ex Soviet states. 
I think unrest will do this all on its own, given enough time. >

All the ex-Soviet states had their own distinct culture, most of Russia does not. >

I read a theory that regional identities don't form around culture, but they form around a well working economy and the existing boundaries of that system. Basically a region that would be doing economically well for whatever reason and would build a regional identity. >


"I really believe that a clear, strategically viable and stable Ukrainian victory this year would be a big boost for the global economy and a big boost for Canada"

Putting aside all the suspicious qualifiers (clear, strategically viable, stable), I don't understand why this would be a big boost for Canada in particular. 
Canada's economy aligns relatively closely with Russia's. Canada has had greater GDP growth over the past year than any G7 country except the US, and is forecasted to have the 2nd highest GDP growth in 2023 (behind Japan). Canadian exports just hit an all-time high, driven mainly by energy products (plus agriculture and mining, to a lesser extent).
In the long term, a stable trading environment would probably be better, sure. But in the short to medium term, Canada benefits economically from the war continuing due to Russia being shut out; it's the Eurozone that really needs this to end ASAP. >

And even Europe is slowly recovering, consumer energy prices dropped again. Even without an end to the war. Germany for example is expecting household subsidies for electricity to be 10-20% of what they expected due to price drops. >

There will only ever be a win by Ukraine if Putin is dead. Because he will never give up or stop.