Vladimir Putin to step down as Russian president? Expert claims Putin will ‘nominate his chosen heir this year’
As the war in Ukraine continues to rage on, reports have claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be stepping down from the top post soon, as he is concerned that his government in Russia will soon be toppled by those who are against the war.
As per media reports, the Russian President’s former ally has claimed that Vladimir Putin is all set to choose his successor as the president this year as his popularity is taking a hit due to the continued military loss against Ukraine in the war.
Putin will seek to hand over power to a chosen heir and retire to his 1 billion pounds Black Sea ‘palace’ rather than risk the ignominious fate of toppled tyrants like Muammar Gaddafi, said Abbas Gallyamov, Putin’s former speechwriter, Daily Mail reported.
The former Putin ally also claimed that Vladimir Putin will give up his power and let the technocrat leader step into his place so that he can negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been economically draining for both countries.
Gallyamov said the despot will likely nominate a ‘trusted underling’ as president — like the Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, or his deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak, Daily Mail reported.
He further claimed that Putin’s inner circle no longer sees him as a ‘guarantor of stability’ in the midst of the Russian-Ukraine war. He claims that many government officials are against the policies pushed by Putin, which is why he is afraid of being toppled.
Vladimir Putin and his allies also seem to be alarmed by the rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the well-armed Wagner private army, which is so far loyal to the Kremlin but could turn on an elite seen as failing in the war, as per IANS reports.
Earlier, many media reports had claimed that Russian President Putin is “critically ill” and is paranoid about his inner circle and top army generals turning against him and trying to assassinate him in a bid to end the Ukraine war.
(With IANS inputs)
