A fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes processes in the Kremlin and the Russian elite's growing disillusionment with Vladimir Putin aspires to provide a report by the independent Russian-language news website Meduza.
As the Latvian-based Russian-language medium notes, three months after the start of Putin's bloody "special operation" in Ukraine, Putin's entourage is deeply dissatisfied and is already reportedly discussing his possible replacement.
"The president messed up, but everything can be fixed, we can somehow reach an agreement" [WITH THE WEST AND UKRAINE], a source told Meduza."
Which names are being proposed as Putin's successors
Citing several sources close to the Russian presidency, the independent medium reports that officials are displeased with Putin personally. Some of the Russian president's allies within the Kremlin walls have even reportedly thrown out the idea of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin or former president and current deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, succeeding him. The deputy chief of staff of the Russian presidency, Sergei Kiriyenko, has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
"The point is not that they want to prepare a conspiracy and overthrow Putin right now. But there is an understanding, or a desire in the foreseeable future not to have [THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT] ruling the country," a source reportedly told Meduza, whose report was reproduced by Western media.
"There are probably not [MEMBERS OF THE ELITE] who are happy with Putin."
"There are probably not [MEMBERS OF THE ELITE] who are happy with Putin. [THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY] and many members of the government are unhappy that the president launched the war without thinking about the extent of the sanctions - it is impossible to live with such sanctions," a source told the Russian-language independent media.
"The problems are already evident and by mid-summer they will start raining down from all directions: transport, medicine and even agriculture. No one expected such an extent [OF THE IMPACT]," another source said.
This dissatisfaction is said to be shared both by people close to Putin who want the war in Ukraine to continue and are unhappy with the delays on the fronts, and by those who would prefer an exit from the crisis.
Putin's health
But, according to Meduza, Putin himself remains blinded by insisting that Russia's deepening economic problems have nothing to do with the war. Even those officials who are privately discussing potential successors know that the only way the Russian president can leave office is if his health - which has been at the center of an orgy of rumors in recent months - takes a dramatic turn for the worse.
The head of intelligence for the Ukrainian Armed Forces today repeated claims that Putin is suffering from cancer along with other "serious illnesses," but, he said, "there is no hope of Putin dying tomorrow." A source told Meduza that this is why, despite their opposition, many in his entourage continue to work and keep the country in a state of war.
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, stressed today that Moscow is prepared for a prolongation of the war in Ukraine. "We are not chasing deadlines," he said in an interview with a Russian newspaper. "All the goals set by the President of Russia will be fulfilled. There is no other way, since the truth, including historical truth, is on our side."
Despite the international sensation, even the resignation of a top Russian diplomat who denounced his country's war in Ukraine failed to affect Putin's plans to any extent. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, even launched a tirade against Boris Bondarev, the adviser to the permanent Russian delegation to the UN in Geneva, saying that his resignation meant that "he is against us". "It condemns the actions of the Russian leadership, which are supported by almost the entire population of our country," Peskov said.
Source: iefimerida.gr
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