A number of representatives of the Russian special services and the FSB are in favor of the dismissal of Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation, some hardliners in the FSB supported the demands of Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has long been pushing for a change in the country’s military command.
The agency has determined that a faction of hawks in the special services wants to escalate the war with Ukraine – declare martial law and full mobilization.
For now, however, there is no indication that the Kremlin intends to remove Shoigu and Gerasimov from their positions, Bloomberg notes. Instead, the authorities are punishing those who criticize the country’s military leadership. After the Wagner Group mutiny in June, Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, close to Prigozhin, was interrogated and disappeared from public view.
Two Moscow Times interlocutors in the Ministry of Defense apparatus reported that Surovikin had been placed under house arrest without investigation. In turn, his deputy, Colonel General Andrei Yudin, was recalled from service.
Girkin hits on Putin and calls for a change of power in Russia
Another critic of the Kremlin’s methods of war, former defense minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Igor Girkin (Strelkov), was arrested in July on charges of publicly promoting extremism.
His lawyer said the criminal case was technically linked to two posts by the former separatist commander on his Telegram channel. The first concerned the possible capitulation of Crimea, the second the non-payment of salaries in the army.
“The country will not survive another six years under the rule of this cowardly mediocrity,” Girkin wrote of Putin, who called for power to be handed over to “someone who is truly capable and responsible”.
In response, the Kremlin has taken steps to respond more forcefully to threats against the regime. The State Duma legally gave governors the right, with the approval of the president, to establish their own military companies to fight against illegal armed groups. The House of Representatives also passed a bill to supply heavy weapons to the National Guard.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
