This former intelligence
officer-turned-president took Russia
from a defeated Cold War relic
to the most feared superpower in Eurasia.
Now Vladimir Putin,
who many have called
a modern-day Adolf Hitler,
is dead.
The consequences will be dire.
A former KGB agent,
Vladimir Putin,
likes to project what he considers
to be a masculine image.
Reports state his obsession with returning
Russia to the former glory days
of the USSR dominate his mind
as he moves forward with this plan.
Putin controls Russian television,
where 70% of the population
receives its news.
His administration is known
for censoring information on the internet.
Putin even changed the nation's laws
to give himself another
two terms as president.
That means he could be
in power until 2036,
when he'll be 84 years old.
His quest for power led him
to invade Ukraine,
causing the murder of innocent civilians,
including children.
This regime has also targeted
the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe.
So if this apparent dictator-for-life died today,
Well, with the Russian despot declared dead,
Russia would experience a power vacuum
not seen since the death
of another Russian terror ruler,
Joseph Stalin, in 1953.
Oligarchs and politicians would seek
to latch onto whatever they could grab.
So who gets first dibs on Putin's empty seat?
Immediately, power would transfer to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
This interim president would rule for 90 days until the next election.
This would be more than enough time
for those closest to Putin to consolidate their power.
You see, Putin was Russia's last elected official.
And once in office,
he placed his loyal supporters
in key positions and destroyed his political enemies.
People like opposition leader Alexei Navalny,
who ran for office and organized
anti-government demonstrations,
were thrown in jail.
So much for a free and fair election.
Now, without a central figure in charge,
the autocrats could start playing out
real-life Game of Thrones scenarios
as they juggle forces and plan coups against each other.
But what does that mean for Russia's current war in Ukraine?
Well, when COVID-19 spread worldwide,
Putin's popularity at home hit new lows.
But his invasion of Ukraine has created
a nationalistic fever dream.
He claimed that Ukraine's move to join
NATO posed a major threat to Russia's security.
Despite this high approval rating and decades of propaganda,
51% of Russians believe that the two nations
should remain independent.
Whoever took the mantle next would have
a tough decision on whether to continue
pro-Putin policies or start a new chapter
in international relations.
However, this war could bring several other unknown factors into play.
For one, if Putin didn't handpick a successor before passing,
a military official could try to grab power.
That might put Russia's armed forces,
chemical weapons and nuclear firepower
into even more unstable hands.
Without the dictator in charge anymore,
keeping a country this size together might be impossible.
And that could give the U.S.
and the European Union
the chance to crush Russia's economy.
After Russia attacked Ukraine,
the world responded by attacking
Putin with economic sanctions.
The ruble dropped in value to less than one U.S. cent.
The SWIFT banking system cut off many
Russian banks from using their services.
That means transactions adding up to
trillions of dollars stopped processing.
Some airlines won't even accept Russian nationals aboard their planes.
And dozens of countries have already
closed their airspace to Russian flights.
Russians are now practically
trapped in their own country.
They can't travel to Europe.
They can't buy iPhones.
Their savings are dropping every day.
And it's not just the upper class feeling the heat.
A falling standard of living
and a failing economy could give rise to a new opposition party.
Maybe jailed leader Navalny
would be released to lead
this new wave with Putin gone.
But sanctions and bans
wouldn't just hurt Russia.
With so much fuel and oil
exported from this country,
gas prices would rise to unseen levels.
Russia accounts for 30% of all the world's
exports in grains used in cereals.
And don't forget all the gems, iron and precious metals they export.
The world would need to figure out how
to keep the supply chain
running after cutting off Russia.
No matter who took the reigns,
the pressure mounting on all sides
could be enough to get Russia to pull out of Ukraine.
It's hard to continue a war when
you don't have any money.
And even if a figure came along
with the presence of Putin
who wanted to continue his brand of politics,
Russia would have to consider embracing
the West again instead of facing a world
of isolation and ever-increasing poverty.
With Russia backed into a corner,
they could be forced to give up territories
that once belonged to other countries.
Putin's annexation of Crimea and Donbas could end.
And returning these lands to Ukraine
could restore pride to the people living
in this illegally fractured nation.
If those harsh economic policies
and sanctions remained in Russia,
the conditions on the ground could create
unrest that could turn into an all-out rebellion.
Whoever inherits this mess
would be in for a long period of rebuilding
a tattered society and renewing global trust.
Ukrainians could only hope
for a new period of peace after the death
of Putin and the fall of the Russian economy.
But what if you were in Ukraine right now?
Well, keep watching because
that's a story for another WHAT IF.