In 24 years in power, Vladimir Putin created the image of an inviolable guarantor of stability for Russia. However, this image began to sway through a series of significant events, including war in Ukraine, a rebellion of Prigogine and a terrorist attack in Crocus City Holly. Recent events, including the successful offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region, raised new doubts about its ability to ensure the security of the country, reports The Associated Press.
On August 12, at a security meeting, Putin showed anxiety while discussing the situation in the Kursk region. During the meeting he interrupted Acting The governor who tried to list the settlements captured by Ukrainian troops. Russian officials and state media are trying to minimize the importance of events, depicting them as a humanitarian catastrophe, not a serious attack.
Putin, who has been managing Russia for over two decades, has always positioned himself as a stabilizer of the situation in the country. However, with the beginning of the war in Ukraine, as well as due to failures on the front and internal problems, its reputation began to decline. The rebellion of Prigogine and the Crocus City of Holly added unpleasant circumstances that influenced his image.
Despite the fact that Russian state television continues to support Putin, dissatisfaction with Russian elites is growing. Nigel Guld Devis from the International Institute for Strategic Studies believes that the elites are in a state of "dissatisfied consent", but are afraid of the beginning of the struggle for power due to the unpredictability of its results.
Eugene Rumer's expert from the Carnegie and Eurasia program notes that even if Putin is humiliated, it is unlikely to weaken his power. "All Russian political and military establishment is an accomplice to this war and is responsible for this catastrophe," Rumer writes.
However, the duration of the Ukrainian offensive creates new military and political challenges for the Kremlin. An important task for Putin and his environment will cope with the consequences of war, which are becoming increasingly obvious. The key question is how the Russian elites will respond to the possibility that the war can be a protracted or even hopeless under Putin's guidance.
Will the second battle under Kursk, as well as the first battle near Kursk during the Second World War, is still unclear. However, as Shulmann noted, it gives the impression that the situation in Russia is becoming more complex.
