me probably the most plausible thing he can do. yeah i do think we are that possibility because i can see three scenarios that might make sense. putin as russia loses its war in ukraine. one is as the ukrainian military picks momentum in

the senate will come to order. the clerk will read a

communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., january 2, 2024. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable kirsten gillibrand, a senator from the state of new york, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate adjourned until last of the book, and there are a couple of a couple of planks i still want us to get in place. one is about the role of

religion for putin in terrorizing of russian society. you know, he assigned a patron to his nuclear forces, etc. yes. and i think we have a photo of putin crossing. there we go. so patron saint is, saint seraphim of seraph. a why? because that's where beria, the father of a russian project, decided to have the headquarters of the russian nuclear. so this monk, who who was canonized by nicholas second early in the 20th century, the monk himself lived in the first third of the 19th century. seraphim of seraph is a patron saint of the nuclear forces. putin went twice now their blessing. he sending to the former

patriarch. that's aleksey. and they they blessed the procession on the 100th anniversary of the saints canonized by nicholas. the second and then put in again to pray at the relics of the of the of the of saint seraphim asking for his blessing of the russian nuclear weapons. and i think we have a rather striking images. oh there we go there they are there are i think there is this the only one or there's there's there's more. okay. there we go. see see? so one of the many wonderful things about this book is all of the pictures that leon has included it and this is just a tasters mention of them so so yes they're sprinkling holy water on the new on the nukes so this tells you about how really

perverse. this society. well not the society the regime is now as far as far as the role of religion it was always you know, in russia, you know, in in public opinion polls, you them i you an orthodox christian? oh, yes. you know, 90%. well, what was the last you went to church? can't remember so so so are very few active christians in russia although although much many more because look at the president look look how devoted his and general korea. i think it falls into the pattern you know after after ivan the terrible tortured and the last independent

metropolitan moscow philip and then peter the great completed the breaking of the back of of the russian church i think 1721 when he established the holy synod he made the church hierarchy are the officers of the state and and that's how it continued and this is this really fits the pattern but let me tell you you know adding to the things that surprised the the okay alexy sort of died in time bef before or shortly after the yeah before the invasion but but this current patriarch of all russia kirill of forced all i mean he is completely shameless the the you know not all of these you know not all not not just the blessings but he really does putin's bidding you know the last from the less

from kirill is that is that those who killed in will go to paradise we see they cross-pollination with new beliefs from no virgins yet but that may coming so so so in russian orthodoxy there was never this tradition of i mean yes you you know you die for the motherland. you're a martyr. that's great. but this thing about, you know, going to paradise. so. so this is state of of the russian arts. how much of this is bought by the russians? how how fervent they believe is hard to ascertain, but they think they were always a little skeptical. this is the country that never went through any kind of reformation. in those words, religion never brought never became personal.

a guide to to, you know, daily behavior. it was always something out something that it's a state and and it's in that in that sense both it that's its strength but it's also its weakness so you argue that that's this now that the system is in place it'll be very hard to shake and for me the metric that proves your argument is the most recent figures. i saw is that there they're now assessing the us and other countries are now assessing that up to 200,000 russians soldiers have either killed or, badly maimed and another hundred thousand 250,000 injured in the invasion of ukraine.

how is this not creating a groundswell of opposition to the war? he is going very cleverly about this. corey. so let me start with the most the craziest sort of factor the average russian annual salary income i'm sorry, income is seven the equivalent of $795. the median is about 1100 dollars. the families of the soldiers killed in ukraine get the equivalent. $73,000. this more than they ever in their wildest dreams could imagine. the paradox of it that their village in russia, the thrived. yeah, i mean i mean it's an unimaginable, sinister and yet he's gone.

it's literally in those places does god godforsaken of the what it's called monaco rada. it became the source of income. i mean, the people could repair their homes. they could finally get get a a small car there. their only chinese cars, by the way, left in russia. but it's better than nothing. better than the russian car. and and another that he does very cleverly is a he avoids despite the clamor of patriotic bloggers, he he refuses to have a full mobilization. he announced a partial mobilization. he knows that the full mobilization will be extremely unpopular. third, if you are an ethnic minority in dagestan, chechnya,

marielle, about you, a young man there is 70 times more likely be killed in ukraine that somebody from moscow. wow. or st petersburg. this is the statistics from a russian pollsters. so you don't go to where the and grandchildren of the elite are. moscow, st petersburg and you know i'm barred from for life from from going back. i was on the first sanctions list, but my friends bragging of course of i'm waiting for you to say this, but but but so i can't go but my friends and my friends and relatives are telling me in moscow. the same restaurants, people in the streets having their

cappuccino envelopes, the gopher rides. they watch theater, despite the sanctions and some of my italian friends, they are seeing the alps. sanctions arere for everyone soe goes cleverly about this and there is no process. if inflation it's heated up, if you can no longer get the dishwasher because now they are putting into their russian military hardware or it begins,

yes. so far again, how long it will go on, we don't know but i don't think there is imminent danger of domestic opposition. >> i see a lot of russian expertise in this room and we have a lot of time for folks. i also see you are working on this book in the room, i want to give a chance but i have one last question. ... brutalizing a russian economy primed them for what they're doing in ukraine.

because it's not clear whether this is just a complete lack of military discipline or as asa think i've heard you argue elsewhere, a natural outgrowth of the culture putin critic. war crimes their committee in ukraine. this is not the behavior of a normal military fighting in normal war. >> so, there are several structures i described they keep putin the place to support the regime. in oneis of them in the revivalf several soviet maxims, but also those that you live by as a street urchin in the slums of the postwar leningrad. that, that fear and respect are the same thing, that confidence