Vladlen Maraev believes that the Russian leader can be destroyed by his entourage due to failures in the war with Ukraine. But there is another option, based on the fact that Vladimir Putin himself will begin to eliminate “competitors.”
In the near future, a “palace coup” may take place in Russia, as a result of which either President Vladimir Putin will be killed, or such media figures as the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov and the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin will be liquidated. Ukrainian historian and video blogger Vladlen Maraev spoke about this in an interview with Ukrayinska Pravda.
The historian believes that the encirclement can destroy Russian President Vladimir Putin, since “in Russia there is a huge history of palace coups and this is a true tradition.”
However, Maraev does not reject another option, according to which, after losing the war with Ukraine, Putin will already destroy the most recognizable media people associated with a full-scale invasion – the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, who became recognizable due to short videos in Tik-Tok.
“Putin can destroy any potential centers of power and absolutize his regime to an impossible limit. And this can happen. Let’s say, liquidate Prigozhin, Kadyrov, or someone else. That is, those who talk too much on social networks,” the historian claims.
In addition, Maraev sees historical parallels between the Russian president and the dictators of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
“During Stalin’s time, the political regime was not just a party regime, it was also a strong regime of the special services, which were also cleaned regularly. Now in Russia, the authorities of the special services are the same. Because Putin is the former head of the FSB, he came out of there,” argued historian’s point of view.
According to Maraev, Putin’s idea to unite not only ethnic Russians, but all Russian-speakers in the so-called “Russian world” is a transformation of Hitler’s concept of uniting all Germans into one state.
Recall, according to ISW analysts, Vladimir Putin may put pressure on Kadyrov to increase the number of his fighters at the front in Ukraine against the backdrop of heavy losses of Wagner PMC. Experts also pointed out that the head of Chechnya was visibly nervous during the meeting with the Russian president and tried to present himself and his troops in a positive and productive light.
Meanwhile, former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev said that President Vladimir Putin could be removed from power if the Russian Federation fails to win the war in Ukraine on acceptable terms. According to him, the head of the Kremlin is an ordinary dictator who does not have any superpowers. The situation in the Russian Federation will change when the Russians say goodbye to illusions and find themselves in a new reality, where there is only fear and repression.
