Inside The Kremlin: A Power Struggle?

The world is desperate to find out what is going on in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. News about detentions point to political infighting.

• It is a question Western security services are keen to find out more about: what is happening in the Kremlin right now – or at least in the higher echelons of Russia’s power structure?
• Military experts are convinced that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is not going to plan. Its forces are suffering on a much higher level than expected. Now the search for a scapegoat might be on.
• It is difficult to assess the internal power struggle in Moscow since there are no independent media outlets with access to the Kremlin. Yet, US officials deem it credible that infighting is going on.
• During the third week of the war reports of detentions among high-ranking Russian officials have reached the public. Ukrainian intelligence has even floated a theory about a palace coup.
• These theories are almost certainly exaggerated. It is likely however that Russian officials are fighting. The former British prime minister Winston Churchill once famously described the problem:
• “Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to a bulldog fight under a rug. An outsider only hears the growling, and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath it is obvious who won.”