Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for Vladimir Putin, predicted this week that a coup to oust the Russian president is a “real possibility” in the next year. (Watch the video below.)
In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Gallyamov said mounting economic woes and the Russian death toll from its invasion of Ukraine could finally obliterate any patience for “an old tyrant, an old dictator.”
“At this moment, I think a military coup or an elite coup, broadly speaking, will become possible,” he said on ‘OutFront’ Monday. “So in one year when the political situation changes and there’s a really hated unpopular president at the head of the country and the war is really unpopular, and they need to shed blood for this ― at this moment, a coup becomes a real possibility.”
Asked by Burnett if he was talking about a military coup, Gallyamov said yes but with “civilian allies.”
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears the first anniversary amid stiff resistance by the Ukrainians and a donation of tanks by Germany and the United States, Putin has been making erratic personnel movies and “looks as if he’s at a loss,” the Russian political commentator said.
“Russians don’t need him if he is not strong,” he continued.
Without a victory in Ukraine, Putin would have trouble winning next year’s presidential election, Gallyamov said. He predicted Putin might instead cancel the election and declare martial law.