Comments by "Aristocles Athenaioi" (@aristoclesathenaioi4939) on "[CCP u0026 the PLA Part 1] Are CCP leaders able to control the Chinese military?" video.

  1. Ironically, the Soviet Union had a more stable political structure than both Russia and China have now. The KGB was essential for the political stability of the Soviet Union. People may forget that the KGB was also referred to as "the shield of the Party." If you wonder who the Party needed a shield against, then the answer is the Army. The KGB, unlike the present Russian FSS, actually had armed troops that had a separate chain of command from the Army. I always found it interesting that the Soviet Union had a tripartite system of Government which corresponded to the tripartite form of Government in the US, as follows: Legislative Branch: -- US: Congress. -- Soviet Union: Communist Party. Executive Branch: -- US President, Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces, and effectively the Head of the Police. This is more obvious in the Government of a State within the United States, where the State Police report to the Governor. It is also worth remembering that the US President commands the National Guard in each State. -- Soviet Union: Marshal of the Soviet Union. This was the position held by Gyorgy Zhukov. The last Marshal of the Soviet Union was Dmitry Yazov, appointed in 1990, who was imprisoned after the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. This is exactly what the KGB was expected to defend against. Judicial Branch: Now here is where it gets really interesting. -- US: Federal and State Courts. -- Soviet Union: KGB. Now at this point, you may be asking "why is the KGB the organization corresponding to the Judiciary?" The answer is that the Judiciary and the Courts are in place to protect against the Executive Branch (the Military and the Police) trying to act in contravention of the Laws passed by Congress. You may also ask yourself, "The KGB had agents through-out the Soviet Union. If the KGB corresponds to the Judicial Branch, then who corresponds to KGB agents in the US?" The answer is simple, "Lawyers." Every lawyer in the United States is an officer of the Court. This is why the first move of an autocrat after becoming the head of the Executive Branch immediately tries to weaken the Courts because that effectively removes the Rule of Law. You only need to look at Hungary and Turkiye to see that at work in contemporary times. There are many more examples, I simply cite those two because they are part of NATO, and in Hungary's case, Part of the EU as well. Putin long ago neutered Russia's Court System which now hands down whatever sentence Putin wants, and under whatever law Putin uses as a pretext. On paper at least, the head of the Dumas is the Prime Minister as opposed to Putin. As President of Russia, Putin is supposed to be Commander in Chief of the Russian Armed Forces. However, the legal head of the Russian Armed Forces is Shoigu, and that is why Putin makes sure that Shoigu, who has served Putin from Putin's time as Mayor of St. Petersburg and Shoigu never served in the military and therefore lacks any power base in the Russian Armed Forces. It also explains why Generals come and go, even Gerasimov, but Shoigu always remains. Although the FSS is technically separate from the Russian Armed Forces, the FSS and the Armed Forces work hand in glove. Gorkin was an FSS Colonel as opposed to an Army Colonel. In truth, the FSS, unlike its predecessor the KGB, lacks its own armed troops comparable to those of the KGB. In place of KGB troops as the Shield of Party against the Armed Forces, Putin needs a "Praetorian Guard" to protect him from the Russian Armed Forces. Does Xi Jinping have a "Praetorian Guard" similar to Putin's? Historically though, a Praetorian Guard has taken control by appointing their own Emperor as happened when the Praetorian Guard declared Claudius following the assassination of the Roman Emperor Caligula by the Praetorian Guard. The Captain of the Praetorian Guard and the other Guard members who assassinated Caligula did commit suicide at the command of the new Emperor Claudius because they had betrayed their oath to protect the Emperor.  They had enough concern for their honor that they did commit suicide to restore their honor and to display remorse for breaking their oath.  Somehow, I doubt that Putin's personal Guards unit or whoever Xi Jinping has as a personal Guards unit would act similarly.
    4