Some Members of Russian Elites Now Distancing Themselves from Putin, Gallyamov Says

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 5 – Because of uncertainties about both the international situation and conditions in the Russian Federation, some members of Russia’s elites are “distancing themselves to a certain degree” from Putin, not yet becoming an opposition but no longer as publicly close to the Kremlin leader as they were, according to Abbas Gallyamov.
    The former Putin speechwriter and someone close to many members of Russian elite says that he has noted in recent weeks a situation in which members of these groups take pains to “emphasize that their mood does not correspond to Putin’s. ‘The president is in a militant mood,’ they say, so trying to change his position is useless” (t.me/abbasgallyamovpolitics/6739 reposted at echofm.online/opinions/distanczirovanie-ot-putina).
    According to Gallyamov, such remarks “are precisely the consequence of fears” among such groups that “official optimism will not prove justified” in the near term. And “anticipating this, people are taking a cautious position in advance,” preparing themselves “psychologically for possible failures.”
    After all, he continues, “let me remind you that everyone can see” that the  depletion of resources as a result of the war in Ukraine make it extremely likely that “the system will be unable to achieve its goals.” Given that, these elites are trying to distance themselves from a collapse even if they are not prepared to move into open opposition, a step that for the time being would be extremely risky.