[sgt101]

I think it's more likely that he retires to the country.

Precedent matters if you may be on the other end of it in months/years.

Also retirement to the country is not forever, which again is useful in political struggles to come.

[Beltiras]

This is exactly why dictators never retire. They would always be a thorn in the new rulers side.

[ck45]

They do retire, but in exile

From https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688225

> Exile has been the second most common fate for dictators who lost office since World War II

See https://www.upf.edu/documents/2873379/2873034/Dictator_JOP_O... for a list of dictators and their destinations from 1946 to 2012

[sgt101]

I was thinking of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev#Life_in_reti...

[EdwardDiego]

Often it's because the constitution of their country states that a sitting President can't be brought up on charges - Mugabe is a very obvious example.

But don't worry, Yeltsin had Putin's back...

> President of Russia, ceased to carry out its mandate, has immunity. They can not be held criminally or administratively liable for acts committed by them during the execution of the President's powers

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Russia

[dsq]

History teaches that very rarely do dictators survive a fall. Putin is likely to face the firing squad. No successor could take the chance of leaving him alive.