Like in the days of late Stalinism: is a coup being prepared in the Kremlin?
фотоколаж: zbruc.eu
The mass detentions of deputies of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu may indicate the preparation of the ground for a change in political leadership in the Russian Federation and are reminiscent of the period in the USSR before Stalin’s death.
Relevant historical parallels were drawn in a commentary to “Pryamoy” by Ivan Us, a candidate of economic sciences and an associated expert at Visergrad Insight.
“The current situation with these arrests of Shoigu’s entourage reminds me of the Soviet Union at the beginning of 1953. That is, Stalin is still alive, but more and more operations are being carried out to reduce the influence of the entourage,” the economist noted.
In his opinion, the arrests of figures like Tsalikov and Ivanov are an attempt to get directly to the head of the defense ministry. This forces Russian elites to act preemptively to protect their own assets and lives. Western intelligence reports on the strengthening of Putin’s security and tight control over his inner circle.
Us believes that internal tensions between security agencies such as the FSB and the Rosgvardia have reached a tipping point. Historical experience shows that in such circumstances, the likelihood of a leader being removed by force increases significantly, especially when an agreement with big business is violated.
As a reminder, on April 23, Timur Ivanov, Deputy Defense Minister of the aggressor country, Sergei Shoigu, was detained in Russia. British intelligence called this arrest the most serious scandal in the Ministry of Defense since 2012. According to the official version of Russian law enforcement agencies, the official was detained on suspicion of receiving a bribe. However, as noted by the Center for Countering Disinformation, such an explanation may raise doubts.
As reported by “Pryamiy”, the internal situation in Russia is showing signs of destabilization due to economic hardship and a protracted conflict. According to official Russian polls, the level of distrust in the dictator has reached 24% , which is the highest figure since February 2022.
It was previously reported that Ukrainian special services obtained recordings of telephone conversations of the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, who in a private conversation gave extremely pessimistic forecasts about the stability of the Russian financial system in the coming months. These data differ significantly from the official Kremlin propaganda.
By the way, the leader of the Russian communists, Gennady Zyuganov, has stated that there is a risk of a repeat of the 1917 revolution in Russia amid economic problems and growing discontent. According to him, the Russian economy is rapidly deteriorating, and he called the first quarter of the year a “complete disaster.” Zyuganov called on the authorities to urgently make financial and economic decisions, otherwise the country could face a scenario similar to the events of 1917 in the fall.