Putin loyalist warns of ‘1917-style’ bloody revolution as Russian financial system implodes
A Kremlin insider has warned Vladimir Putin of the risk of a revolution as Russia’s war-hit economy faces financial disaster and rising inflation
Vladimir Putin has been slapped with a terrifying wake-up call after a veteran Kremlin insider warned the Russian tyrant he could face a revolution as the nation’s economy spirals toward disaster.
Gennady Zyuganov, the long-standing head of Russia’s Communist Party, delivered the blistering broadside during a parliamentary speech. He claimed the government is more interested in the whims of “influencers from Monaco” than the struggles of starving citizens.
The politician, who is usually a staunch ally of the Russian tyrant, took aim at the Kremlin for listening to social media figures like Monaco-based blogger Victoria Bonja. The influencer recently sparked a debate after slamming the regime’s nationwide internet crackdown.
As the brutal war in Ukraine grinds into its fifth year, the Russian Federation is being hit by skyrocketing food prices, crippling taxes and runaway inflation.
Zyuganov, whose party is the second-largest in the Duma, warned that if the Kremlin doesn’t pivot its policy immediately, the country could face a coup like the one launched by communists in 1917.
He said: “We’re doing everything we can to support (President Vladimir) Putin and his strategy and policies, but you (the government) are not listening.”
While the communist leader was careful to avoid direct attacks on Putin himself, he turned his fire on the central bank and the ruling party as their popularity ratings hit the floor.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Russian strongman. New data from the Kremlin-linked FOM polling institute reveals Putin’s trust rating has plummeted to 71 per cent, which is the lowest level in seven years.
Despite the regime’s desperate attempts to crush dissent and silence anti-war protesters in grim penal colonies, the cracks are beginning to show. Even Putin has been forced to admit that the economy is performing far below expectations.
The head of Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security Service, Thomas Nilson, claims Russia is now “living on borrowed time” as it burns through cash to fund its invasion. Speaking to the Financial Times, Nilson warned of an impending “financial disaster.”
He said: “It’s not a sustainable growth model to produce material for the war that is then destroyed on the battlefield.”
The economic nightmare has been worsened by a series of devastating Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s critical oil infrastructure.
With refineries in flames and exports crippled, Russia was forced to slash its oil output by up to 400,000 barrels per day in April. For a $3 trillion economy that survives on Siberian crude, the loss of revenue is a hammer blow.
Nilson believes the situation is actually far worse than the Kremlin is letting on, suggesting that data is being manipulated to hide the true scale of the crisis from both the West and Putin himself.
He added: “If you have created a system like Putin has, he might not know how bad the economic situation really is. But even with the false info he gets, you ultimately can’t run from all of this.”
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