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If Vladimir Putin is no longer qualified to lead Russia, he will be replaced by Nikolai Patrushev, who is currently the secretary of the country’s Security Council, predicted Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6 – the British secret service. “I’m going to say it’s definitely going to be Patrushe at this point,” Dearlove said in an episode of the One Decision podcast that aired Thursday, Aug. 11. “Whether he’s going to survive in politics for a long time is another question,” he added.
The former head of British intelligence believes that only poor health or a planned removal by a third party could lead to Putin’s departure. Dearlove does not expect to be able to enjoy a “luxurious retirement” away from the Kremlin leadership, referring to Putin’s estimated wealth amassed. “Like many great dictators, I wonder if he will ever enjoy the fruits or benefits of his ill-gotten gains. He made a terrible mistake in Ukraine. The outcome is difficult to predict, but it will lead to some kind of unpleasant outcome.“.
Nikolai Patrushev has been close to Putin for decades, forming part of the Russian head of state’s highly-controlled entourage. Lewis Shelley, director of the Center on Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption, also points to him as a possible successor: Patrushev is a possibility because he’s a “chiloviki” (security forces), “one of the inner circle. Now Putin’s”.
Vladimir Putin’s health The subject of many rumoursAnd there are even suspicions that the Russian president might be facing some form of cancer.
Despite the Kremlin’s denials, secret services in several countries are saying the life of Russia’s most powerful man may be nearing its end. Doubts arose only in early April: an independent Russian organization, Proeket Media, revealed that Yevgeny Selivanov, a specialist at the Moscow Central Hospital and one of the top Russian doctors in thyroid treatment, had been “constantly” with Putin. Cancer.. The investigation revealed that they met 25 times in a gap of one and a half years. Alexey Sheklov, a surgeon who researched the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, reportedly met with Putin several times. The possibility of developing blood cancer has also been indicated.
Tierlov points to a second hypothesis for Putin’s fall from power: Russian elite interference, with Ukrainian intelligence trying to remove him from power.
Nikolai Patrushev, Also known as the “Kremlin Hawk”., was touted as Putin’s potential successor. A close friend and member of his inner circle, he was inducted into the KBG when he was 24 and has always been close to the Russian head of state. In the words of historian and political scientist Valerij Solovege, quoted by El Mundo, “They are friends, they think alike”. In 2017, Politico newspaper highlighted his “radical nationalism, conspiratorial worldview and extensive espionage experience”.
The current Secretary of the Russian Security Council was the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Karelia between 1992 and 1994. A year later, he joined the FSB in August 1999. When the current president was sworn in as Russian prime minister, Patrushev took his place.