Day 1669 and the Russian circus is still running, but the clowns

By John Ready (@johnready1940.bsky.social)
Published:

day 1669 and the russian circus is still running, but the clowns are sweating through the greasepaint. trump just lobbed a brick through putins window, rubikon got flattened, officials are bailing like rats off a lada with three wheels, and the elections are so rigged even the ballot boxes want asylum. grab your popcorn, this is the kind of geopolitical shitshow you couldnt make up if you tried.

trump throws a curveball

lets start with trump, because nothing says international stability like a guy who cant finish a sentence without plugging his golf course. for months, the kremlins been betting the dacha on trump coming back, thinking hell hand them ukraine on a silver platter and maybe toss in a baltic state as a party favor. russian tvs been running "trump our guy" segments like its bedtime reading for vatniks.

then plot twist, trump goes off-script and actually lands a punch on putin. not a love tap, not a wink-wink "lets negotiate," but a real hit: publicly promising ukraine more patriot missile tech, talking up "defensive weapons," and making it clear hes not just going to roll over for vlads bedtime stories. the vatnik meltdown was instant. z bloggers went from "trump will save us" to "trump is a deep state puppet" in under 24 hours. the cope was so thick you could pave a highway with it.

meanwhile, russian state tv tried to spin it as "trump is just pretending, hes still our friend," but you could hear the panic in their voices. when your entire foreign policy is "wait for trump," and trump starts acting like hes not your pen pal, you know the ship is taking on water.

when even the kremlins favorite clown stops playing along, you know the circus is about to pack up.

rubikon gets steamrolled

while the kremlin was busy updating their trump fanfiction, rubikon - the regimes favorite "private" military contractor - got absolutely steamrolled. these guys were supposed to be the next wagner, but instead they ended up as cannon fodder with a fancy logo. ukrainian strikes took out their bases, their leadership, and most of their gear. the only thing left standing was their telegram channel, and even thats just reposting memes about "glorious counterattacks" that never happened.

its like watching a startup pitch "uber for mercenaries" and then get sued into oblivion by reality. the regime cant even outsource its war crimes properly anymore. at this rate, the next "private military company" will be a bunch of pensioners with airsoft guns and a telegram group chat.

remember when wagner was supposed to be the unstoppable private army? now theyre either dead, in jail, or working as mall cops in belarus. rubikon tried to fill the gap, but all they managed was to get a bunch of their own guys killed and embarrass the kremlin on the world stage.

officials bail, regime leaks

the real kicker? russian officials are running for the exits. not just the usual oligarchs with their yachts and maltese passports, but mid-level bureaucrats, regional governors, even some fsb suits. the regimes inner circle is leaking faster than a soviet pipeline. everyone with half a brain can see the writing on the wall: the wars a disaster, the economys circling the drain, and the only thing the kremlins good at is inventing new ways to rob their own people.

when even the guys who get paid to lie for a living start packing their bags, you know the ship is going down. officials are cashing out, sending their families abroad, and buying up real estate in places that dont extradite. the brain drain is so bad even the propaganda writers are running out of new material.

the only thing growing in russia is the number of people trying to get out. every week its the same recycled talking points: "nato is evil, ukraine is run by nazis, the west is decadent, and russia is winning." meanwhile, the only thing russia is winning is the race to see how fast you can turn a superpower into a punchline.

elections: choose your favorite sock puppet

and then theres the elections. or as i like to call them, "choose your favorite oligarchs sock puppet." the kremlins idea of democracy is letting you pick which loyalist gets to pretend theyre in charge while putin does whatever he wants. this year, they didnt even bother with the usual window dressing. ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, armed goons at polling stations - even the ballot boxes looked nervous.

the only thing missing was a guy in a bear suit handing out bribes. international observers? please. the only observers allowed are the ones who promise to say "everythings fine" in exchange for a free trip to sochi and a bag of rubles thatll be worthless by next week.

opposition candidates get disqualified, journalists get arrested, and anyone who complains gets a one-way ticket to siberia. the only real competition is between which united russia candidate can kiss putins ass the hardest. the rest is just theater for the cameras.

propaganda on repeat

meanwhile, the propaganda machine is working overtime to convince everyone this is all normal. "the west is collapsing, ukraine is finished, sanctions dont work, and our elections are the freest in the world." sure, and im the tsar of moscow. every time a z blogger opens their mouth, you can practically see the script scrolling behind their eyes.

deny, deflect, distract, declare victory, repeat. its like watching a rerun of a bad sitcom, except the laugh track is just the sound of conscripts crying. every time something goes wrong, its "the wests fault." oil prices crash? blame biden. sanctions bite? blame brussels. half the countrys on fire? must be nato weather weapons.

the regimes biggest export isnt oil or gas, its excuses. and the only thing more inflated than their casualty numbers is their sense of control.

the trump angle: hope is not a plan

lets talk about the trump angle a little deeper, because the kremlins entire strategy for the last two years has been "wait for the americans to get bored." they figured trump would come in, cut a deal, and let them keep whatever they could grab. but realitys a bitch. trumps team is split, the us establishment isnt just going to roll over, and ukraines not exactly in the mood to hand over territory because some guy in a red hat says so.

even the maga crowd is divided - some want to cut off ukraine, others see russia as the bigger threat, and everyones too busy fighting over who gets to post the next viral meme. the only thing uniting them is a shared hatred of the us postal system, which, lets be real, is the only institution in america less functional than the russian military.

and dont get me started on the "energy ceasefire" trump tried to announce. he posts on truth social that ukraine and russia have agreed not to bomb each others energy infrastructure, and both sides are like, "bro, what are you talking about?" its pure fan fiction. the only thing more imaginary than this ceasefire is the idea that putins going to negotiate in good faith.

the kremlins idea of a deal is "give us everything we want, or well whine about nazis on tv for another year." meanwhile, ukraines still blowing up russian oil depots, and russias still launching missiles at ukrainian cities. but hey, at least trump got a few headlines out of it.

regime running out of road

but heres the thing: the cracks are showing. the officials bailing, the failed mercenary startups, the rigged elections, the propaganda panic - it all points to a regime thats running out of road. the wars not going their way, the economys tanking, and the only people still buying the party line are the ones too scared to say otherwise.

even the z bloggers are starting to sound tired. you can only scream "victory is near" so many times before people start asking why the front line keeps moving the wrong direction. the regime cant even keep its own people from fleeing, let alone convince ukrainians to surrender.

while all this is happening, ukraines not just surviving, its adapting. tech boom, new weapons, international support, and a population thats not interested in giving up. every time the kremlin says "ukraine is finished," ukraine hits back harder.

the regime cant even keep its own people from fleeing, let alone convince ukrainians to surrender.

the endgame nobody wants

so whats the endgame? the regimes hoping for a miracle - maybe trump comes back, maybe the west gets bored, maybe ukraine runs out of ammo. but hope isnt a strategy, and denial isnt a plan. the officials running for the exits know it. the mercenaries getting wiped out know it. even the ballot boxes know it. the only people who dont are the ones still watching state tv and pretending everythings fine.

day 1669, and the circus is still in town. but the tents on fire, the clowns are fighting over the last loaf of bread, and the ringmasters too busy counting his offshore accounts to notice the audience is leaving. the regime can spin, lie, and rig all they want, but realitys catching up. and when it does, no amount of propaganda is going to save them.

so yeah, trump hit putin, rubikon got wrecked, the officials are running, and the elections are a joke. the only thing more predictable than russian propaganda is the regimes ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. keep watching, because this shows not over yet - but the endings not going to be what the kremlins hoping for.

russian victory is always just one more mobilization, one more fake referendum, one more "historic speech" away. meanwhile, the only thing moving forward is the line at the border.