Former Vladimir Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov says in an interview with CNN that a military coup is becoming a possibility in Russia.
“The Russian economy is deteriorating. The war is lost. There are more and more corpses coming back to Russia, so Russians will have more difficulties and will try to find an explanation for why all this, by looking at the political process and answering: ' Well, that's because our country is ruled by an old tyrant, an old dictator,'" Gallyamov said, referring to Putin.
For Gallyamov, the coup could come in the next 12 months.
Within a year, adds the political analyst, "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, at that time a coup d'état will become a real possibility."
Gallyamov also said he believes Putin could cancel the presidential election scheduled for March 2024.
"Judging by his actions, when he presses on something unnecessarily, he really could cancel the election: without 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 election," he told the US broadcaster.