As reported exclusively by russian sources at the moment, he lost consciousness after a walking hour and prison medics were unsuccessful in reanimating him, as per sources in УФСИН (government body regulating prisons and punishment). He was 47 years old at that time. The last time he was heard of he was moved from Moscow-based prison into the IK-3 named Polar Wolf, a penal colony located in a permafrost region near the town of Harp, where he found his end.
No other sources commented on that by now. At that time, there’s no independent proof of that or other explanations but the one given by prison authorities.
A fitting reminder is that presidential elections are to be held in 15-17 of March, meaning it happened exactly one month prior to them.
I call it institutionalized history, and yeah, history as a science was hurt by it up to the point we associate societal and economical changes with tzars, kings, presidents, ruling institutions who had no part in many oncoming natural changes. They didn’t start things like industrial revolution, they just tried to acconodate to it. Still, the chronology of our school course of history is tied to them.
Yet, in that exact case, I think it’s correct to tie the current regime to one personality or one group of people since they collected all power over the country in their hands. And them dying would definetely change the route of russian politics.
You’re better situated than me for understanding the current power dynamics in Russia. Here in Burgerland we’re always told Putler is all powerful and uniquely evil, like some cartoon villain.
Like any good cartoon villain, Putin has enough in his biography to explain basically everything about his character, at whatever point of his life - it just doesn’t make the villain less evil and deserving of being removed from any sort of power and, hopefully, put to justice, with the former being imperative.