WP: Putin Will Have To Face Ire Of His Most Hard-Line Backers

The Kremlin chief was reminded of Prigozhin's uprising.

In the three years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Russians have become deeply imbued with the ideological narrative of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and nationalists, according to which Moscow is waging an existential war with the “collective West” led by the United States. Recently, Russia's relations with Washington under the administration of President Donald Trump have been softening, which has caused discontent even among the Kremlin leader's ardent supporters, The Washington Post writes.

The publication's journalists conducted a survey among the “Z community”, which includes Russian war correspondents, ultra-nationalists, and supporters of the war against Kyiv who want the complete enslavement of Ukraine. Many of them said they do not want Russia to agree to a peaceful settlement of the conflict unless it leads to the removal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a change of power in Kyiv.

It is noted that Putin has to keep an eye on this active part of Russian society, which has grown stronger during the war against Ukraine. Journalists recalled that in 2023, this escalated into an open uprising after a short-lived mutiny by the former head of the Wagner PMC mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The publication emphasized that the Kremlin often used “turbopatriots” to promote propaganda for the need for a bloody war against Ukraine. Some of these people are fighting against Ukrainians at the front.

The downside of the “turbopatriots” is that they have also become a rare source of criticism of both Putin and the decisions his government makes. Most likely, they will not agree to a 30-day truce with Ukraine if the head of the Russian Federation goes for it.

A high-ranking Kremlin official told journalists that there will definitely be Russians who will be unhappy with the normalization of bilateral dialogue between Russia and the United States.

“There is a significant part of society that says that it is afraid and will not be satisfied with security guarantees if Ukraine simply continues to exist,” he said.

The “Z community” is increasingly unhappy with the fact that Russia is improving relations with the United States. Military bloggers and nationalists call the proposed ceasefire “an attempt to steal victory from Russia.”

The publication recalled that nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin did not support the general delight of Russians over the quarrel between Zelensky and Trump during their meeting in the Oval Office.

“It is important how combat-ready the Ukrainian armed forces are, what is the situation with the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine and whose soldiers are walking around Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk and Kherson, which, according to our constitution, are part of Russia,” he wrote.

Discontent is also growing among the Russian military. A former Wagner PMC fighter told reporters that not all soldiers understand who they are actually fighting. According to him, “America does not want a strong Russia.”

“Gaiduk”, the commander of the Russian intelligence unit fighting in Chasiv Yar, told reporters that he wants Russia to defeat Ukraine and “destroy Zelensky.” He stressed that Russians will have to accept Putin's decision if he agrees to a truce with Ukraine, but it will be done “with broken hearts.”

According to “Gaiduk”, the positive aspect of the war is that “Russian society is returning to what it should be.”

“Vladimir Putin used to be too European, too Western. Now Putin is coming home, to the bosom of Russian civilization,” he explained.

A former Putin aide told reporters that hardline nationalists in the military and security services “see enemies everywhere”, but they have little influence in the Kremlin. He believes these people will not interfere with Putin's efforts to restore diplomatic ties with the United States or negotiate a peace deal.

“Nobody in the Kremlin listens to the opinions of these layers of society. They use them when it is necessary for propaganda, but in reality they have very little real influence,” the former Putin aide assured.

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