Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About Removing Putin?
Russian War Escalation Proposals and Internal Factionalism
I know some of you that might be getting ready to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, and already many international news and events have been put on the back burner until Monday. As an American, I know the meaning and the importance of this day, but most of all the sacrifice it took and still takes for many to “Let Freedom Ring.” I am lucky enough to be in a country that will display fireworks for the 4th of July, and I will hopefully share it with you live tomorrow.
But for today, July 3rd, I still wanted to publish this important report on the internal balance of power in a country that is not only dear to my heart but is also now part of me and my family forever: Russia.
Somewhere between the hawks calling for nuclear escalation and the war correspondents losing faith in the general staff, there's a Kremlin that's barely making decisions at all. And that silence is doing more damage than any single policy could. Budget cracks, a fuel crisis nobody planned for and doesn’t really openly talk about, a China relationship that isn't what Moscow hoped for, and rumors about Putin's own future are all converging at once.
The Karaganov Doctrine: Escalation as the Road to Peace
Political scientist Sergei Karaganov argues for escalation, including possible nuclear use and claims on Odessa, to end the Ukraine conflict.
Dear readers and subscribers,
This article is the internal power map most outlets (western or eastern, for that matter) won't show you.
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A group of pro-Kremlin experts and high-ranking officials, including Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov, are calling for an increase in the war efforts: a new wave of mobilization, a complete wartime economy, more attacks on Ukrainian and Western targets (like weapons factories, bridges, and transport centers), and even talking about using tactical or strategic nuclear weapons if necessary.
Those advocating the nuclear option have picked up a new label in Russian media circles: “nuclear maniacs.”
Meanwhile, war correspondents and military bloggers, traditionally the sharpest critics of the Defense Ministry and General Staff, are growing visibly disillusioned with the military command’s ability to sustain the campaign.
That shift is prompting the Defense Ministry and other security agencies to tighten oversight of these voices. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has issued a warning that Ukrainian intelligence is intentionally providing negative battlefield information to Russian war correspondents to incite anti-war sentiment within the country. This claim has generated significant controversy in Russia’s military information space and suggests a growing divide between the front-line reporting class and the command structure it covers.
However, the escalation camp represents only a portion of the overall situation. What the Kremlin’s actual leadership is doing (or not doing) about any of this is a different story entirely, and it’s fueling rumors most Russians aren’t supposed to be hearing.
