Putin ‘bracing for a coup’ as FSB agents and Russian generals turn against him

According to various reports, Vladimir Putin is ‘bracing for a coup’ as Russian generals and FSB agents allegedly start to turn on him.

Sir Richard Dearlove, the 77-year-old former MI6 chief, talking on the One Decision podcast last Sunday, May 22, claimed that all was not going well for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that he was bracing himself for an attempted coup.

“I think he’ll be gone by 2023 – but probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as the leader of Russia”, said the ex-spy boss. “I’m not saying he won’t emerge from the sanatorium, but he won’t emerge as the leader of Russia any longer. That’s a way to sort of move things on without a coup”.

Andrei Soldatov, the respected Russian investigative journalist, and co-founder and editor of Agentura.ru, while speaking to the Centre for European Policy Analysis, also made similar claims about the Russian leader. Putin is thought to be ‘very worried’ said Soldatov, with security in and around the Kremlin being significantly tightened, as reported by express.co.uk.

“Does it matter? It matters a lot”, he commented, before elaborating: “The Russian President has been bracing for a coup for some weeks as has faced fierce criticism over his ‘special operation’ in Ukraine, and he has purged around 150 of his spies over the constant failures”.

Relations are also strained between Putin and Russia’s Federal Security Service, claimed Soldatov. Two senior FSB officers were reportedly put under house arrest by Putin last month. Sergei Beseda, the foreign intelligence branch chief of the FSB, along with his deputy, Anatoly Bolyukh, both allegedly ended up being detained.

“Both men have played a major role in intelligence operations against Ukraine for several years, and highly likely played a major role in the planning for the invasion”, explained the Russian expert. “There could be significant changes at senior levels in the FSB”, he added. This is a scenario also put forward by respected Russian analyst, Alexey Muraviev.

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