Paranoid Vladimir Putin loses ‘boss’ title as cronies worry ‘outdated man’ has ruined Russia’s future
Bunker-bound Vladimir Putin is claimed to be terrified over a coup as his own inner circle brands him an ‘old man’ who has destroyed Russia’s future
Vladimir Putin has reportedly been stripped of his ‘boss’ nickname(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin has been stripped of his “boss” nickname and demoted to “the old man” by concerned cronies who fear the bunker-dwelling tyrant has flushed Russia’s future down the pan. The warmongering despot, 73, is reportedly worried over a potential coup, abandoning his luxury palaces to hide out in underground fortresses for weeks at a time.
Sources say the Kremlin elite, once his loyal servants, now view the dictator as a “psycho” who has destroyed decades of economic progress in a heartbeat.
According to former central bank insider Alexandra Prokopenko, the atmosphere in Moscow has curdled into a terrifying Stalinist nightmare.
In her explosive new book, From Sovereigns to Servants, she reveals how the elite have stopped calling Putin the “boss,” instead using the derogatory term “the old man.”
As reported by France 24, Prokopenko said: “The level of paranoia people are forced to live under is such that they are essentially afraid even to think, let alone to speak. It’s fear of an absolutely paranoid, Stalinist kind.”
One source quoted by Prokopenko didn’t mince words about the Kremlin chief’s mental state, saying: “The old man is of course a psycho, but not an idiot.”
Despite their private horror, the Russian elite are said to have become “sycophants and flunkies,” too terrified to move against him.
One critical voice said: “Thousands of people spent decades building businesses. Putin tore everything apart in just a few months.”
Meanwhile, new intelligence suggests Putin’s fear of a coup has reached fever pitch. Reports claim he has effectively disappeared into high-tech bunkers, including his £1 billion clifftop Gelendzhik palace, which features multiple subterranean levels.
The tyrant is said to be avoiding his usual residences in Valdai and Moscow, fearing his own associates will launch drone strikes against him.
Putin is claimed to often work from underground sites while state TV uses pre-recorded footage to pretend he’s out and about.
Visitors to the Kremlin reportedly now face two levels of screening, including full-body searches, while even Putin’s cooks, photographers and bodyguards have had surveillance systems installed in their homes to ensure they aren’t plotting a hit.
The level of distrust is so high that top officials have started ditching smartwatches and hiding phones in briefcases to avoid being bugged.
In one bizarre incident highlighted by Prokopenko, a young deputy minister was so scared of surveillance he literally sat on his iPhone during a meeting.
When it rang, he blushed as the muffled tone vibrated under his backside, before quickly muttering, “In a meeting,” and sitting back down on it. While the elite are “deeply resentful,” Prokopenko warns that Putin has already done the damage.
She said: “Putin has massively mortgaged the future. Everyone very much wants the [Ukraine] war to end.”
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