Putin Criticized by Hawks Who Trumpeted His War

Putin is now facing a major political challenge after Ukraine’s stunning rout of Russian forces. His image of competence and might that he has worked for two decades to promote is sorely undermined (NYT, Sep. 13). As Russian forces retreated in north-eastern Ukraine in one of the most embarrassing setbacks of the war, Putin was presiding over the grand opening of a Ferris wheel at an amusement park in Moscow (NYT/Sep. 11).

This brought in sharp contrast the growing rift between the Kremlin and the invasion’s most ardent supporters.

For them, Russia’s retreat confirmed their worst fears: that senior Russian officials were only concerned with maintaining a business-as-usual atmosphere back home and had (deliberately) failed to commit the necessary materiel and personnel to fight a long war against a determined enemy.

Putin had indeed succeeded in eliminating the liberal and pro-democracy opposition in Russia’s domestic politics, but he now faced the risk of growing discontent from the hawkish end of the political spectrum.

It has now become exceedingly difficult for Putin and his inner circle/elite to maintain the fiction that the invasion was merely a “special military operation”.

The extreme conservative elements of Russian society are convinced that Russia was, in fact, fighting a full-fledged war – not just against Ukraine, but against a united West that is backing Kyiv.

According to analysts, Putin faces no good options: “Escalating a war [also by a general mobilization] whose domestic support may turn out to be superficial could stir domestic unrest, while continuing retreats on the battlefield could spur a backlash from hawks who have bought into the Kremlin narrative that Russia is fighting ‘Nazis’ for its very survival” (NYT).