The Russian secret service agent “Wind of Change” writes emails to the exiled human rights activist Vladimir Osechknin. In the leaked emails, he describes how the internal Kremlin conflicts surrounding Putin continue to escalate. Putin’s cook Prigozhin and Chechen leader Kadyrov play a special role in this.
The e-mails from the Russian secret service whistleblower are available to the US news magazine “NewsWeek”. Accordingly, the US magazine received the emails that the informant “Wind of Change” sent to the exiled human rights activist Vladimir Oseschkin. In addition, an FSB expert checked and confirmed the authenticity of the emails.
The whistleblower’s predictions:
The focus of the unrest in the Kremlin: Putin’s alliance, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin’s cook and founder of the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” and the head of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. According to the whistleblower, these would increasingly seek power.
The “Institute for the Study of War” has already analyzed that both – but above all Prigozhin – tried to further expand their power. According to the whistleblower’s emails, it would be particularly difficult for the Kremlin to keep Prigozhin down if he posed a threat to Putin’s rule.
As a military blogger, Kadyrov has already gained influence among the Russian population: the Chechen leader has more than three million followers on his Telegram channel. There he disseminates his comments on warfare, scenes from the front and photographs of his troops. His influence as a military blogger is immense – and growing just like the influence of other military bloggers.
In its most recent analysis, the Institute for the Study of War took a closer look at Russian military bloggers and their influence on Russian information about the war in Ukraine. Accordingly, the influence of military bloggers is growing, although they are also increasingly criticizing the conduct of the war. The military blogger community consists of more than 500 independent authors.
Given the censorship of non-state media, it is extremely surprising that the Kremlin tolerates military bloggers as an independent yet official mouthpiece and source of information on the war in Ukraine. The military blogger community is growing in influence because it is fundamentally pro-war and fosters Russian nationalist sentiments. However, according to the ISW, it is questionable whether the military bloggers will remain loyal to Putin. How Putin will react if military bloggers turn their backs on him is also uncertain.
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Just a few days ago, it looked as if Russia had attacked NATO territory. At least that’s what Zelenskyy said, as did other Ukrainian politicians. Current findings refute this thesis. Why did Zelenskyj cause irritation for so long?
With the withdrawal from Cherson, the mood in Russia has also changed among those in favor of the war. Vladimir Putin in particular is counted out. Some observers give him only half a year in power.
