contents
The nationalist accuses the Russian military leadership of failure – apparently he has the support of many secret service agents.
Vladimir Putin rarely has to put up with such criticism: “If the government continues as it is now, there will be revolts. She is destroying herself and the whole country with her», a chubby man with a snow-white goatee warns on YouTube.
It is not a liberal member of the opposition who denounces Russia’s government so violently, but Igor Girkin – alias Strelkov. The government is doing everything to lose the war, the nationalist continues bitterly in an interview with a Moscow businessman.
Above all, the recent defeats of the Russian armed forces have driven Girkin to incandescence: “The head of the fish is completely rotted,” he said recently.
To date, our President has not taken any responsibility for this. Instead, he blames it all on the Department of Defense. This is nonsense.
Putin claims that everything is going according to plan. Victory over Ukraine is no longer possible, according to Girkin. And further: “Our President has not taken any responsibility for this to date. Instead, he blames it all on the Department of Defense. That’s nonsense.”
Putin’s calculus
Most of Putin’s critics are either in prison or in exile. But Igor Girkin is staying in Moscow, where it is almost completely forbidden to question the so-called special operation in Ukraine. So why let the nationalist Girkin do it?
Many in the Russian government would love to silence Girkin, says political scientist Mark Galeotti, an insider of Russian intelligence. This applies not only to Girkin, but to a whole scene of nationalist bloggers who openly criticize Russia’s warfare.
These people are saying what many in the military and intelligence community are thinking for themselves.
But for the time being, Putin is not taking action against this scene, and with good reason, according to Galeotti: “These people say what many in the military and in the secret service think themselves.” Many shared Girkin’s view that the Ukraine operation was being botched. The Kremlin doesn’t want to upset these people by getting rid of Girkin – because they are the ones he is counting on to stay in power.
Legend:
Igor Girkin admires both Stalinist terror and the empire of the tsars. This is another reason why he rejects the existence of a Ukrainian state. He does not criticize Russia’s war of aggression per se. But in his view, Russia does not go far enough.
imago images
In fact, many experts assume that nationalist ideas along the lines of Girkin are widespread in the Russian secret service. This is another reason why former KGB officer Putin allowed himself to be tempted to invade the neighboring country.
The debacle in Ukraine now presents him with a tricky problem. Putin hopes to be able to bring people like Girkin back on board through successes in the war. This is exactly why Girkin suits the hawks in the Russian state apparatus. With his much-noticed criticism, he is driving the government to take more radical action in Ukraine and is shifting the limits of what can be said.
Still a danger for Putin?
It is no coincidence that some now refer to Girkin as Russia’s “last opposition”. Political scientist Galeotti considers it unlikely that Girkin can become a threat to Putin. However, should there ever be an uprising against Putin, it would most likely come from like-minded Girkins.
In Moscow, Girkin is openly asked if he is planning a coup against Putin. He has no such plans, he replies calmly. Whether he will back Putin and the Russian government again will probably be decided at the front in Ukraine.