A tyrant's death toll after 4 years of killing.

 

Vanity of vanities: "My reputation & glory or else...
...or else you die"

To save his vanity the Russian "mafia" boss pictured above has persisted in his violent pursuit of conquest against Ukraine. He has dug himself into a hole which means he cannot easily backout without losing face; for how is he going to justify the loss of thousands of lives if his expansionist goals are not achieved? His vanity means that he wants to be feted as a successful autocrat bringing victory, wealth and empire to his country. Therefore he must go on and continue to dig his hole come what may.  Those who serve him are either sycophants whose interests lie with his mafia regime or are deluded by his media control as he exploits the very natural human desire for tribal pride and "home team" loyalty. The rest serve him out of fear of imprisonment or assassination.

He continues to pursue his vain project of conquest even though that pursuit has the possibility of triggering nuclear Armageddon. That's no problem to this proud gangster. The thousands he has already killed will be portrayed by his propaganda as someone else's fault and his justifiable response to conspiracies of national threat.

He is a slave to his pride and that slavery will likely mean that many, many more will die to add to the many thousands of Ukrainians and Russians who have already been killed in his seeking a feelgood fix of imperial power and conquest. He is no novelty in human history; the past is littered with would-be warmongering tyrants like him who murder rivals and kill thousands in their ambitious wars as they seek to satisfy their need for kudos, accolade and glory as great empire builders. He is just another face in the rogues gallery of tyrants enslaved to their base nature, classic studies in the squalid side of the human condition,