Putin Promotes or at Least Benefits from Narrative that the FSB is Behind the Attack on Telegram Channels, Rogov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 16 – Russian commentators in emigration have been promoting the idea that the Kremlin’s moves against Telegram channels and VPNs have been taken “on  the initiative of the FSB,” which such writers say involves “ignoring” the civilian bureaucracy, according to Kirill Rogov.

            Rogov, who himself is in emigration and writes frequently about Kremlin politics, says that just as the design and execution of the Great Terror was the work of Stalin alone so too the attack against the Internet is the handiwork of Putin alone, rather than the result of pressure from the FSB (echofm.online/opinions/mif-o-chyornoj-bashne).

            In fact, he continues, “the narrative regarding ‘an FSB initiative’ is a standard, intra-regime trope concerning ‘the Dark Tower’—a mechanism that serves to mitigate the risks associated with challenging the Supreme Leader’s initiatives -- while simultaneously offering the "wise satrap" a convenient exit strategy should he wish” to change directions.

Nor does it particularly matter whether this narrative of "loyalist dissent" constitutes an organized campaign orchestrated by Kiriyenko or not,” the Russian political commentator continues. “It is, first and foremost, a phenomenon that generated itself—though it may well have subsequently garnered cautious support.”

According to Rogov, “its emergence into the public sphere is a distinct, autonomous feature of the regime’s internal dynamics. It is, in essence, a signature ‘trick’ of the regime” and should be recognized as such rather than be promoted by those who oppose the Putin regime.