This missive may sound a bit premature. Yet I am convinced that there are things that Russia could do to improve the lifestyle of average Russian citizens post-Putin or at least post-War-in-Ukraine. I put these ideas forward because I believe it may lead the citizens of Russia to press for peace, so they can improve how they live and pursue war no more. Perhaps they will even accept American aid in exchange for signing a treaty with Ukraine ceding back all of the land they have tried to take.
After Lenin’s death, Stalin killed off–among other people–all of the merchants who worked as middlemen between the country and the city–exchanging food (from the country) for goods (in the city). This policy led to mass starvation in Russia… coupled as it was with the collectivization of the serfs from individual farms to collective farms. More, the transportation from one region and another in Russia was virtually torn apart.
I had one old fogey at my synagogue point to the fact that, “Russia could be a breadbasket if only they hadn’t torn apart their transportation system under Stalin.” Indeed, I believe he was right, and that is why I believe Russian leaders ought to do something which American leaders did during and after the Civil War: create a Railroad from European Russia to Siberia, and two: give the land surrounding it to individual farmers to grow crops. I believe the United States–which has the capacity to grow more crops than it does but chooses not to because it would cause deflation of the price of the crop grown–could stop subsidies on wheat or corn, say, and give them to Russia in exchange for Russians agreeing to buy their farm equipment from the United States. (I believe this last makes sense because the U.S. did something similar in the Marshall Plan.) This would benefit Russians and perhaps others in Eastern Europe. In fact, perhaps to ease resentments between Russia and other countries in the region, the United States could offer the same plan to, say, Poland or Ukraine.
Anyway, that is my idea… I hope that although this is simply a Blog, somebody will see it and take it seriously…