Betrayal is rife in Putin's inner circle according to an ex-KGB spy

An ex-KGB spy and former high-ranking Russian official suggests that a mutiny is looming in Moscow, citing President Vladimir Putin’s failures in Ukraine as the reason for his loss of support among his inner circle.

“Putin can’t rule the Kremlin like before,” Gennady Gudkov told The Times in a shocking interview that revealed just how bad things have gotten for Russia’s President.

“He has made lots of stupid mistakes and everyone from the general staff of the armed forces to the leadership of the FSB [security service] to his close aides understands this,” Gudkov added.

Gennady Gudkov was once one of Russia’s most prominent politicians and one of Vladimir Putin’s most “vocal and charismatic critics” critics according to The Moscow Times.

In 2012, Gudkov’s criticism of Putin got him kicked out of Russia’s parliament and he was forced to flee the country later that year, landing in Bulgaria where he has continued to rail against Putin and his policies.

Gudkov also told The Times that officials within Russia were getting “bolder and brasher” as their infighting escalated and became more public.

“There is no longer the subordination to Putin that there was a year ago,” the former Russian politician added. “This is a quiet rebellion against him.”

The Times noted that Gudkov cited conversations with relatives, Kremlin insiders, and political figures in Moscow, as well as several Russian business tycoons. But Gudkov isn’t the only person sounding the alarm on growing anger against Putin.

Tatiana Stanovaya is the founder of R.Politik: The Reality of Russian Politics and a senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who spoke with The Times about the situation unfolding among Russia’s elites.

Photo by Twitter @Stanovaya

Stanovaya told The Times that she doesn’t believe any Russian officials would be brave enough to criticize Putin, but she did note that the Russian President had lost their respect. “Lots of them used to respect him,” Stanovaya said. “Not anymore.”

In December 2022, Stanovaya wrote an extremely interesting article breaking down the schism that was developing in Russia’s elite class as the country faced the growing prospect of ultimate defeat in Ukraine.

“Members of the elite are dividing into relative realists who are calling for a tactical pause in the fighting in order to rethink Russia’s goals, and those who advocate remorseless escalation at any price,” Stanovaya wrote.

“Never before have Putin’s strategic decisions—generally seen as the price of stability—pushed the Russian elites to the brink of a divide,” the Russian political analyst added.

The defeat in Kharkiv, followed by defeats in Kherson pushed Russia’s elites into questioning Putin’s decision-making according to Stanovaya, which has made him look weak as Russia faces what Stanovaya called a possible “freefall into the abyss.”

“In this respect,” Stanovaya added, “Putin looks like a weak figure to both camps in the elite. Even the emergence of those camps is a reaction to his weakness as a leader.”

“Russia is heading toward a final battle between the radicals, for whom escalation is a way of life, and the realists, who understand that continuing to up the ante could lead to their country’s collapse,” Stanovaya concluded.

If Stanovaya is correct, Putin may be in serious trouble. Regardless of which faction of the elites wins in Russia, the outcome probably won't be good for the person sitting at the top of Russia’s political food chain.

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