Can Putin save face by blaming his Generals?

No.

No, it wa shis lunatic idea to reconnect USSR, it started in 2014 with Belarus.

If he shot all of them; who could he blame ?? (Look in a mirror Putin).

Poland maybe next.

Kind of like Trump trying to blame everyone else.
True signs of a mental illness.

No. Putin is the commander in chief. The generals do what he asks. And in Russia, that’s even more true because the generals are not trained to think independently.

He can blame them, because the corruption in the Russian military runs deep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9i47sgi-V4
We are talking about embezzling funds, selling equipment, buying substandard equipment instead of the good stuff, and pocketing the “profits”, lying about training/troop performance to make themselves look better, and so on. Everyone does it, everyone knows that it is happening, and everyone has accepted that this is just the way things are “run”. They even have a specific word for it: “vranyo”
He can blame it all on that, but he will make himself look weak and not in control.

It’s not about the truth or being sane, I’m asking regarding a way for him to stop the war and blame other people.

@ragingloli I guess if it makes him look weak it’s out.

LOL . . .

“Save face” with what audience?

He already has his own echo chamber. He IS misinformed, regularly, by people who report to him.

He also has his own media, complete with laws criminalizing criticizing the government or the war. So, he doesn’t need to blame a general for their audiences.

An embarrassing number of Russian generals have also died at the hands of Ukrainian artillery.

For the purposes of anyone not swayed by Russian (or other allied) propaganda (which includes US Republican-aligned messages . . . ), Putin has already lost any credibility he had, and established himself firmly as a severely messed up lunatic.

Nonetheless, expect continued nonsensical and perverted attempts to spin the narrative in various directions, for the benefit of the fools who for whatever reasons accept Russian state propaganda.

Nope because everyone knows he only surrounds himself with yes men.

In Russia, it’s not about face, it’s about power. Russians give a lot of deference to their leaders, believing on some level that they are essentially good, but that terror and benevolence are just two equal sides of power. Truly Russia is the last Rome.

He could possibly blame the generals, but that also makes him, as the executive figurehead of the state, look weak. I think the biggest problem with blaming the generals, is that generals don’t like appearing weak either, and they have armies at their backs. I think by now Putin knows this conflict is for all the marbles. Losing is impossible, and unthinkable, even as it’s happening. God help us all. (I wish).

@Smashley So, the only way out is if Putin drops dead?

I saw on TV the Russians are drafting men out of their prisons to fight. Mostly, one way missions from what I could tell.

Let’s just quote Galadriel and say that the quest stands upon the edge of a knife. I can’t see Putin giving this one up without being forced to. He’s clearly willing to escalate and hurt NATO directly. The grain situation alone will kill people across the whole world. Perhaps he thinks the west only has the stomach for a proxy war, and China has a good amount of face and treasure to lose if Russia falls. The whole world cares what happens here, and most of it has not yet begun to fight. This is going to likely become a bigger war before it becomes smaller. I’ve been wrong before, though, and I really hope this is one of those times.