Kremlin eyeing life after Putin, say Russian media

Slow progress in Ukraine and damaging sanctions create unlikely alliances in the corridors of power

‘It’s not that they want to overthrow him right now but there is an understanding, or wish, that he will not rule the country in a not-sodistant future’

KREMLIN insiders are discussing a successor to Vladimir Putin amid growing discontent with the course of the war, according to reports from a reputable Russian media outlet.

Meduza, a website that operates in exile from Latvia, reported that Kremlin officials believe the only way the Russian president will be replaced is if he falls gravely ill.

However, quoting unnamed sources it added that discussions about who might replace Mr Putin, whose health is the subject of speculation, are being held in Moscow’s corridors of power.

The war entered its third month yesterday, confounding Kremlin plans for a lightning-quick operation to topple the Ukrainian government.

“It’s not that they want to overthrow Putin right now and they’re plotting a conspiracy but there is an understanding, or a wish, that he will not rule the country any more in a not-so-distant future,” one of the unnamed sources was quoted as saying.

Both hawks and liberal-leaning figures in the Kremlin are concerned about the progress of the war, albeit for different reasons, Meduza claimed.

An overwhelming majority of officials and powerful businessmen are angry that Mr Putin ordered the invasion without considering the devastating economic sanctions that the West would inevitably slap on Russia.

Oleg Tinkov, one of the country’s most outspoken tycoons, condemned the war and said that most Russian businessmen feel the same but are too afraid to speak out. Unnamed officials also complained to Meduza that Mr Putin refused to believe that Europe would impose an unprecedented oil embargo on Russia, the world’s third-largest producer.

The Russian president’s unwillingness to face the economic fallout of the war was clear from a video call he held last week with the governor of Kaliningrad, who mentioned that Russia’s westernmost region was suffering from a disruption of its transportation links because of the war.

Mr Putin angrily dressed down Anton Alikhanov, insisting that the conflict had nothing to do with the region’s woes.

Mr Putin’s allies in the security services, for their part, were reportedly disappointed with what many claimed was indecision on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In an apparent response to scathing criticism by nationalist figures, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, admitted yesterday that Russia had slowed down its offensive in order to allow the evacuation of civilians from eastern Ukraine.

His remarks were derided by prominent nationalist figures such as Igor Girkin, a former Russian commander in eastern Ukraine, who joked bitterly that soon Russians living near the border with Ukraine would soon be forced to evacuate in the face of a Ukrainian offensive.

Separately, a close ally of Mr Putin, in a rare interview yesterday, sought to explain why Russia’s offensive is becoming so bogged down.

“We are not chasing any deadlines,” Nikolai Patrushev, chairman of the Security Council, told the newspaper Argumenty i fakty (Arguments and Facts).

“Nazism has to be 100 per cent eradicated or it will rise up again in a few years,” he added.