Events in Venezuela have alarmed Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he is preparing purges of his entourage, Russian sources claim.
A successful U.S. operation in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro have heightened paranoia in the Kremlin, the sources say. Putin is preparing large-scale purges within his closest circle, reports the Telegram channel “Kremlin Snuffbox”, citing its sources in Russia’s top leadership.
According to the channel, people with direct access to Putin will soon be actively screened for “traitors.” The main goal is to identify all those deemed disloyal so that “there isn’t a repeat of Maduro, who was handed over by traitors.”
The outlet also reports that Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) of the Russian Orthodox Church plans to read a special Christmas prayer for the punishment of traitors in the Kremlin leader’s circle.
Opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov commented on the rumors on Facebook, saying that “even without insider info,” very serious purges in the Kremlin are clearly coming.
“One can debate at length how Trump’s ‘special military operation’ is undermining international law. But that it fuels Putin’s paranoia is beyond doubt. The upcoming series from a Manhattan court, which the bunker-bound TV viewer will find hard to ‘unsee,’ will rival the Gadhafi case. And after that, the inevitable ‘hit your own so that others fear you’ begins, and a dictator obsessed with personal security will inevitably start hunting for potential plotters. All the more so since, judging by the pace of ‘re-privatization’ and the arrests of mayors and deputy governors, the meat grinder is steadily gathering speed, and some within the system are beginning to realize they’re next. At some point, the strategy of ‘betraying in time isn’t betrayal but foresight’ may outweigh fear of the dictator. We can wish Vladimir Vladimirovich luck in this noble endeavor. It certainly won’t be boring,” he wrote.
