President Putin’s Inner Circle

Despite being isolated from the world for his attack on Ukraine, President Putin hardly seems shaken. In fact, he has imposed export bans to counter sanctions placed on Russia. Though some oligarchs have spoken against his invasion, it is too early to say that his support base has eroded substantially. Though there are protests within the country and ordinary Russians are said to oppose the war, the autocratic President’s inner circle, mostly comprised of the Russian elite, holds an entirely different view.

The founder of political analysts, R.Politik, Tatyana Stanovaya, opined that the Russian elite could be seen as technocrats and the siloviki. The former dominates the government but “have no remit to interfere in security matters.” But it is the latter group that "dominates the agenda, fuels Putin’s anxieties, and provokes and escalates tension."