The world of Newtonian politics would suggest that the more you use violence to retain power, the more the same level of violence may come to be used against you. Leaders who live by the sword are unlikely to see the full benefits of their index-linked pension.

Power is such a heady brew that even enlightened leaders – think Mugabe when first in office – can become drunk and intemperate with their judgement very swiftly. The principles and policies adopted should maintain the status quo rather than risk a new rock bank on the block. Fine words become dark deeds as enemies accumulate and friends and family require favours.

The Presidential incumbency is now effectively a tribe rather than a single politician. Vladimir Putin knows that if he is not President he will be either in jail – or worse. His actions mitigate his demise. The power of patronage means survival for a time but not, as history demonstrates, for all time. But dictators are not students of history or, if they are, they are clearly ignoring the lessons available to them. They will be the exception that proves the rule. They will find the way to keep the people subservient, the opposition in disarray and the family happy and wealthy.

Is there another way? Can power be curbed constitutionally, irrevocably? Power-driven presidents may change what they do not like but they have to effect some manner of consensus to deliver such change, and perhaps therein lies the nature of the answer.