Pro-war ‘ultra-patriots’ may overthrow Vladimir Putin

A prominent Russian MP has claimed there is a growing possibility the group might attempt to push out Vladimir Putin due to discontent over the army’s failures in Ukraine.

A chaotic mobilisation of reserves, poor tactics and setbacks on the front line have incensed some well-known nationalist figures, with a prominent Russian MP claiming there is a growing possibility that ‘ultra-patriots’ might attempt to overthrow President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

A prominent Russian MP has claimed there is a growing possibility that “ultra-patriots” might attempt to overthrow President Putin because of discontent over the army’s failures in Ukraine.

Oleg Matveychev, a member of the pro-government United Russia party who has also worked as a spin doctor, said that supporters of the war posed the greatest threat to Putin’s rule.

“The situation is not so critical yet, but 2023 will be very dangerous,” Matveychev said in an online interview.

“We will not be pushed out (on to the streets) for a liberal Maidan,” he added, using the name of the central square in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which is synonymous with the revolution launched there in 2013. “The liberals have all run away.”

Matveychev, 53, said that Russia’s quasi-official opposition, the Communists, were equally unable to bring out supporters because complaints about pensions and low salaries were not big enough motivators during wartime. So-called turbo or ultra patriots, were now “the only danger to our state”, he went on. The opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in jail and many of his supporters have been forced to flee abroad to avoid prosecution.

A chaotic mobilisation of reserves, poor tactics and setbacks on the front line have incensed some well-known nationalist and “patriotic” figures. One is Igor Girkin, 52, a former commander of rebel forces in eastern Ukraine, who has accused Sergey Shoigu, the defence minister, of “criminal negligence” and called for his resignation.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, 61, the businessman who runs the Wagner mercenary group, remains loyal to Putin but has criticised Kremlin-loyal oligarchs for weak support of the war effort, and is thought to be planning his own conservative political movement.

Matveychev predicted that the ultra-patriots would put forward a candidate in the presidential elections next year, when Putin is expected to run for a fifth term.

The Times