Putin elevates family members to key roles amid Kremlin instability fears

Russian President Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on energy by elevating youthful loyalists amid rising instability throughout the Kremlin as he ages, stories recommend.

On Sunday, The Telegraph reported that the 73-year-old Putin, who has dominated Russia for greater than 20 years, has “no extra playing cards to play” as strain mounts each at dwelling and overseas.

The Federal Safety Service (FSB) additionally opened a felony case towards exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of Russia’s Anti-Struggle Committee, accusing them of plotting an influence seize. Khodorkovsky spent ten years in a Siberian jail earlier than founding the Anti-Struggle Committee in 2022.

John Herbst, senior director of the Eurasia Middle on the Atlantic Council and former US ambassador to Ukraine, instructed the British newspaper that “the Kremlin is descending into paranoia.”

Putin warns that Western troops in Ukraine can be ‘professional targets’

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a gathering on the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, August 18, 2025. ((Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photograph by way of AP))

“All of the individuals round him have began desirous about a world past Putin, so he has organized his personal elite in a really cautious means in order that there are not any apparent seams alongside which it may tear aside,” Henry Hale, a professor of political science and worldwide affairs at George Washington College, instructed Fox Information Digital.

“He now additionally has members of his family beginning to rise within the ranks. A kind of who has acquired probably the most consideration is Anna Evgenievna Tsivilyova, née Putina,” Hale stated.

Tsivilyova, 52, is Putin’s cousin after he was ousted and at the moment heads the Defenders of the Fatherland Basis, a state group that helps Russian troopers and veterans.

She was additionally chairman of the board of administrators of the Kolmar Group, considered one of Russia’s largest coal firms.

Putin and XI deepen ties as leaders of Iran and North Korea go to Beijing

Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip on energy by selling members of the family and youthful allies to his interior circle. (Masim Konstantinov/SOPA Photos/LightRocket by way of Getty Photos)

“The youthful persons are being raised by the older era, seamlessly built-in into the ability pyramid,” Hale stated.

“Putin is fearful about what is going to occur when he will get older, And in case you do not give youthful individuals the chance to stand up, then the regime might come beneath some strain.”

“These individuals will be trusted as a result of they’re associated to individuals near Putin, they usually may also be younger and energetic. The youthful persons are raised by the older era, seamlessly built-in into the ability pyramid,” Hale added.

In 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner group, staged a short mutiny, sending his fighters into Moscow earlier than abruptly withdrawing solely to die in a airplane crash weeks later.

Now the Kremlin’s focus has shifted to silencing the opposition overseas.

Putin ally warns ‘gigantic efforts’ underway to sink Trump summit over struggle in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the Moscow-appointed head of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhia area, Yevgeny Balitsky, throughout their assembly on the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 18, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photograph by way of AP)

See also  Joachim Lafosse’s ‘Six Days in Spring’ Depicts a Family Hiding in Plain Sight on Vacation (Exclusive San Sebastian Trailer)

“Tensions throughout the elite stay and Putin needs to remove all potential dangers,” Hale stated. “The 2023 incident was a warning from Putin to his personal elite, his personal interior circle, to not dare attempt something. Putin and his individuals watch one another carefully and so do not attempt something humorous,” Hale added.

Lately, Western sanctions, decrease oil revenues and struggle prices may push Russia in the direction of a recession.

The Ministry of Finance beneath President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, escalating strain on the Kremlin to finish the struggle in Ukraine.

Based on stories, the Russian authorities may increase taxes and enhance home borrowing to shut the hole.

“Putin has endured the best disaster that Russia has attributable to the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was the preliminary shock of the invasion and the shortcoming to take Ukraine in just a few days,” Hale added.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“However struggle brings uncertainty and there’s a threat of disastrous defeat, which is not going to exceed expectations. All of the individuals round him are beginning to consider a world past Putin.”

“That stated, I feel Putin’s regime is sort of secure proper now,” Hale concluded.

Fox Information Digital has contacted the Kremlin for remark.