> Putin cannot afford to lose a war or to lose Russian territory. Putin is only president for life. No Russian leader has personally survived such an event, all the way back to the tsars.

Alexander I survived losing the wars of the third and fourth coalitions against Napoleon, Alexander II survived losing the Crimean war, Kerensky survived losing WWI, Lenin survived losing the Polish-Soviet war, Gorbachev survived losing the Soviet-Afghan war, Yeltsin survived losing the Chechen war...