Who would become Putin's successor?
Two experts rely on ex-KGB man
Created: 08/01/2022 11:02 am
By: Jan Oeftger
Nikolai Patrushev (back) could succeed Vladimir Putin as President of Russia (archive image).
© Mikhail Klimentyev/dpa
What if Putin leaves?
A British ex-foreign intelligence chief is certain that Nikolai Patrushev would take over the Kremlin leadership.
Moscow – Russia continues its attacks in the Ukraine war.
The rumors about Vladimir Putin's illness are just as persistent - and the speculation about a possible successor plan.
Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of the British foreign intelligence service MI6, believes that Nikolai Patrushev would succeed Putin if he had to step down due to illness.
Patrushev is currently Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
Dearlove gave his assessment on the One Decision Podcast, according to
Newsweek
magazine.
Again and again new rumors sprout about a possible serious illness of Putin.
However, the Kremlin dismisses this as untrue.
Western observers have also recently been very skeptical about the rumours.
Dearlove has nonetheless given his assessment of a post-Putin future: "I would go so far as to say almost with certainty that for now it would be Patrushev."
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Patrushev is considered a close ally of Putin and also justified the invasion of Ukraine, the
Washington Post
reported.
He shares a past with Putin with the KGB.
This is the main security agency of the Soviet Union.
According to the Kremlin, as Secretary of the Security Council he now works in a "separate department of the Presidential Executive Office".
Putin's successor would come from his inner circle
On the podcast, Dearlove met Dr.
Louise Shelley, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia.
Shelley, who is also director of the Center on Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption she founded, believes Putin would be succeeded by a member of the siloviki.
Siloviki are the Russian representatives of the military or secret services.
Shelley expects a successor from Putin's "closest circle".
However, the expert did not want to answer the question of whether the successor would be able to stay in power for long.
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Putin has been in office for more than two decades.
A law he signed in 2021 reset his terms to zero.
This will allow him to remain president for two more terms.
These would last 12 more years and he could officiate in the Kremlin until 2036.
But it is uncertain that the 69-year-old will actually remain President of Russia for that long.
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