Will Vladimir Putin Nominate His Successor And Retire This Year?

Russian President Vladimir Putin may choose a successor and peacefully retire this year. The leader’s former speechwriter, Abbas Gallyamov claimed this could well be Putin’s decision rather than risk being ousted due to plummeting popularity and numerous setbacks in the country’s war with Ukraine. While speaking to the Khodorkovsky Live YouTube channel, Gallyamov said Putin’s successor could potentially pursue peace with the West and end the conflict with Ukraine.

According to the Mirror, Putin will retire to his luxury palace by the Black Sea after handing over the country to the technocrat heir of his choice, to avoid any chances of a revolution. Gallyamov added that Putin’s circle no longer viewed the Russian president as a “guarantor of stability” and had grown rather alarmed by the Wagner mercenary group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his ever-growing popularity. Although Prigozhin has been loyal to the Kremlin so far, officials fear he may turn on the elite that many claim to be responsible for many of the military’s failures during the war. The elite fear Prigozhin’s sledgehammer, a tool that he has used for extrajudicial punishment given to former jail convicts enlisted in his private army who refuse to fight or seek to defect to Ukraine.

“The whole apparatus sits in horror, looking at Prigozhin,” said Gallyamov, adding that they fear he will come after them and put them to his infamous execution tool.

Gallyamov also remarked that Putin may "slip and fail to be elected" if he should seek to be nominated for another term. He also warned that Putin might even try to rig the election, but the consequences of doing so may cause a revolution, making it a risky move for the system. Putin will likely nominate one of his most trusted underlings. These may include the Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin, premier Mikhail Mishustin, or his zealously loyal deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak. Such people have a strong possibility of succeeding the Russian President, said Gallyamov, and the responsibility of negotiating peace with Ukraine and the West, and breaking the deadlock within the system will fall upon their shoulders.

Retirement would be a better option for Putin, Gallyamov noted. He said that by doing so, he will still have guarantees of personal security and with current laws, he will remain a “senator for life”. This will also allow him to peacefully end his days in Gelendzhik palace.