Ahead of elections in Russia, experts speak of Putin’s isolation — ABC News Australia
In Russia, the aggressor state, ahead of parliamentary elections, experts and interlocutors of President Vladimir Putin spoke about his increased security measures, the closed nature of his residences, and pressure linked to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. This is stated in an ABC News Australia report.
Putin has a dacha near Valdai, between Moscow and St Petersburg. Russia expert and honorary professor at University College London Mark Galeotti noted that concealing movements is one of the key elements of the Russian president’s security. According to him, Putin’s special armoured train looks like an ordinary one from the outside.
Risks for the Valdai residence
ABC News Australia writes that Putin has been visiting the Valdai residence less frequently, as it is within the reach of Ukrainian drones. Air defence systems and protective nets have been installed near the facility, but staying there could have been considered more risky, according to the outlet’s assessment.
American political scientist Jason Smart suggested that Putin may have spent most of the past 10 months in a bunker. Smart, who was expelled from Russia in 2010 after working with the democratic opposition, also believes that the president fears not only Ukrainian drones, but also people from his closest circle.
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Assessments of the war and the system of power
Smart links the increased pressure on the Russian leadership to the worsening economic situation caused by Western sanctions and Ukrainian drone strikes on energy infrastructure. The outlet also mentions queues at petrol stations, restrictions on oil exports, and Russia beginning to import oil.
Galeotti does not consider Putin a strategic genius and calls him rather an opportunist who sometimes acts skillfully and sometimes does not. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who met Putin several times, said that as early as 2014 he considered it obvious that the Russian president sought to destroy Ukraine as an independent state.
Former head of the Yukos oil company Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that after speaking with Putin about corruption in 2003, he was arrested and subsequently spent almost 10 years in prison. Khodorkovsky called corruption the foundation of Putin’s system of power and described him as a gangster.
