Vladimir Putin's inner circle 'secretly hate' him and the dictator will be toppled in a 'palace coup' within the next year, according to a previously pro-Kremlin lawyer. The prediction was made by Ilya Remeslo, earlier a staunch backer of the invasion of Ukraine and seen as linked to the Russian security services.
Remeslo is taunting Putin, 73, to arrest him by saying he wants to be a leader of a new Russia after a 'revolution' and 'have some role in the future in ensuring the transfer of power'. His incendiary comments came in an extraordinary interview with prominent media personality Ksenia Sobchak, who is known as Putin's 'goddaughter'.
Root Cause Is Putin
Warring Russia is beset by problems and the 'root cause' is Putin — 'the man at the very top, the one who runs it all,' Remeslo said. 'It's Vladimir Putin. It's obvious. Everyone knows it.' He announced: 'I am the person who knows how to fight Vladimir Putin, who knows the system's weaknesses, how to interact with it, and how to lure people out of it.'
Unlike tragic opposition leader Alexei Navalny, another lawyer widely seen as having been murdered in a Russian prison, Remeslo, 42, said he comes from within the system. 'I'm using this interview to appeal to those who are in this system, who haven't yet decided whether to leave it or not,' he said. 'Guys, don't be afraid of anything, we will definitely win, and nothing will happen to you. And believe me, we only have a little time left to endure, and everything will work out for us… My plan is to create a platform and attract those who are afraid to speak out against Vladimir Putin. I want to become a representative of this mass of people, which amounts to tens of millions.'
Collapse and a New System
Earlier a dedicated propagandist for Putin, Remeslo forecast: 'I'm deeply convinced that….by the end of 2026 - beginning of 2027, we will experience profound changes…..the collapse of the previous system, the birth of a new system.' There would be 'a palace coup, a revolution in Russia'. But it would not be a military putsch. 'It will be something very quiet. You know, like what happened in 1953 [when Stalin died and was replaced by Nikita Khrushchev]. We'll wake up in a different country,' he said.
Insiders in the government and presidential administration 'all secretly hate Putin', he added. 'They simply hate him because he took everything away from them. They can't enjoy the benefits they once enjoyed. Everything there is essentially already decided. So, when these contradictions within the system accumulate to such a point…'
Who Would Lead?
Sobchak asked who the new Russian leader would be under his scenario, which contradicts the view that Putin has such an iron grip on Russia that he is impregnable. 'Listen, if I name him, they'll arrest him tomorrow,' said Remeslo. But he gave three names hinting that one was the man he tipped to take over. One is the existing prime minister, the dullard technocrat Mikhail Mishustin, 60, known for obediently carrying out Putin's orders. The second was Maxim Reshetnikov, 46, Minister for Economic Development and former Perm region governor, seen as a moderniser who has steered Russia through sanctions caused by Putin's war. He recently warned that the state's 'reserves have largely been used up'. The third is Putin's former bodyguard and the man who once saved him from an aggressive brown bear, Col-Gen Alexei Dyumin, 53, now a top Kremlin aide and secretary of the State Council. Putin has long been seen as grooming him for tsardom yet many believe the despot has no intention of voluntarily ceding power.
The new post-Putin Russia would be 'right-wing', with a 'strong economy, one in which businesses pay few taxes but also thrive'. It would be 'open to foreign investment'.
Remeslo's Background
Remeslo first came out against Putin in March, branding him a war criminal, liar, and thief. The lawyer afterwards was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in what appeared to be an act of Soviet-style repression. But he was discharged and has renewed his fierce attack. One theory is that Remeslo has backers in the security services who approve his attack on Putin. Once a vitriolic foe of Navalny, he now says 'no one deserves to die in the conditions he did, in that horrible prison' and that he 'feels guilty' about his harassment of the Putin foe.
Pro-Kremlin Influencer Warns Putin
The public criticism of Putin is spreading, with a recent intervention by former reality television star Victoria Bonya going viral. Bonya is a household name in Russia who rose to fame in 2006 on Dom-2, the country’s answer to Big Brother. Earlier in April, she posted an extraordinary 18-minute video addressed to the Russian president, telling him: 'People are afraid of you. Ordinary people are afraid, bloggers are afraid, artists are afraid. Governors are afraid of you,' she said in the rare criticism. Despite her previous unctuous backing for Putin and his long war, Bonya, 46, claimed the Kremlin leader is receiving false reports from officials and has no real understanding of the hardship facing Russians.
She warned him: 'The most frightening thing is that this is happening because you, Vladimir [Putin], do not know what is going on in the country. You are not being given accurate information.' Her criticism echoes some experts who say Putin has surrounded himself with yes-men and those who are too intimidated to challenge him as well as corrupt oligarchs who face ruin if his policies change. 'People are suffering greatly today,' she said, insisting she was not scared of him, possibly because she lives abroad. 'Businesses are dying - small and medium-sized businesses. People are losing money.'
She warned the situation could spiral if ignored. 'Do you know what this leads to? I'll tell you. People will grow tired of being afraid. They are being compressed like a spring - and one day that spring will snap.'
Crises Hidden from the President
Bonya highlighted a string of crises she says are being hidden from the president, including deadly flooding in Dagestan, an appalling oil spill which ruined beaches at top resort Anapa, economic pressure on small businesses, chronic social media bans and internet restrictions which have crippled online entrepreneurs, and a rising number of people leaving Russia. Many of the problems relate to the war in Ukraine - about which Russians are forbidden to complain.
The video - titled 'An appeal to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. From all concerned Russians' - quickly went viral, racking up more than 6.6 million views and over 370,000 likes within less than 12 hours. Reaction online was split. Some praised Bonya for 'voicing real problems,' while others mocked her claims that Putin is unaware of events. One said: 'THANK YOU SO MUCH for expressing the opinion of the majority of Russians!' 'He knows everything perfectly well,' one commenter wrote. 'You're naive.' Another said: 'Fear is the goal. Intimidated people are easy to control.' One more commented: 'Have you ever considered that the president is the main instigator of everything you've said? You're wrong to think the president doesn't see anything. He created all of this.'
The Bonya intervention is striking given her past reputation as a loyal Kremlin supporter, and highlights growing unease even among high-profile public figures over the direction of Russia under Putin who has ruled the country for 27 years as president or premier. Bonya - a millionaire usually based in Monaco but with a massive following in Russia - told Putin: 'You can't treat people like this, stripping them of everything. What do you want - to create a famine?'
