Stalin's Great Purge (1936-38) removed hundreds of experienced and competent officers from the Soviet Army. The ensuing 1939 Russo-Finnish War (AKA the Winter War) proved to be a disaster for the Red Army, as the hearty Finns inflicted a casualty rate of approximately 5:1 on the poorly led invaders. Putin is paranoically following Stalin's pattern of eliminating potential rivals or oligarchs/leaders not sufficiently loyal to him.
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
In polar contrast, 70 years earlier in the US Civil War President Abraham Lincoln kept replacing Union generals without harm until he finally found a competent leader to win the war named Ulysses S. Grant.
Stalin's Great Purge (1936-38) removed hundreds of experienced and competent officers from the Soviet Army. The ensuing 1939 Russo-Finnish War (AKA the Winter War) proved to be a disaster for the Red Army, as the hearty Finns inflicted a casualty rate of approximately 5:1 on the poorly led invaders. Putin is paranoically following Stalin's pattern of eliminating potential rivals or oligarchs/leaders not sufficiently loyal to him.
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
In polar contrast, 70 years earlier in the US Civil War President Abraham Lincoln kept replacing Union generals without harm until he finally found a competent leader to win the war named Ulysses S. Grant.