A military coup in Russia is becoming a possibility as the war in Ukraine continues. Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Russian President Vladimir Putin turned political analyst, told CNN, arguing that with Russian casualties mounting in Ukraine and difficulties in Russia caused by Western sanctions, Russians will be looking for someone to blame.
“The Russian economy is getting worse. The war is lost. There are more and more corpses coming back to Russia, so the Russians will have more difficulties and try to find an explanation why all this, looking at the political process and answering themselves: “Well, this is because our country is ruled by an old tyrant , an old dictator,”” Gallyamov said, referring to Putin. “Right now, I think a military coup d’état will become possible” and “this moment could come in the next 12 months,” Gallyamov specified to CNN. “So in a year, when the political situation will change and an unpopular and hated president will be at the head of the country, and the war will be really unpopular and it will be necessary to shed blood for this, then a coup d’état will become a real possibility».
Within a year, adds the political analyst, “when the political situation changes and at the head of the country there will be an unpopular and hated president, and the war will be really unpopular, and it will be necessary to shed blood for this, at that time a coup d’état will become a real possibility.” Gallyamov also said he believed that Putin could cancel the presidential elections scheduled for March 2024. “Judging by his actions – he told the US broadcaster -, when he insists on something unnecessarily, he could really cancel the elections: without the victory over Ukraine, he will have a hard time with the Russians. The Russians don’t need him if he’s not strong. He could really declare martial law and cancel the elections.’