On the other, he relied on loyal technocrats such as Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Russian Central Bank Director Elvira Nabiullina to keep the country’s economy afloat.
But this approach seems increasingly untenable as some of Putin’s confidants approach or are in their seventies.
That includes Lavrov, 74, and Shoigu, 68, as well as the country’s top security hawks. Alexander Bortnikov, 72 years old, Sergei Naryshkin, 69 years old and Alexander Bastrykin, 70 years old.
“It is time for the Putin generation to leave the stage, but their replacements are not ready,” Petrov said. “The system is facing a serious problem and we will see to what extent it is able to solve it or if it will just buy time.”
“If Putin wants to maintain his system, he must change it,” admitted political analyst Abbas Gallyamov.
He pointed to the recent shock arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on corruption charges, widely seen as an attack on Shoigu, as a possible signal that Putin is ready to “shake the foundations of the system.”
News Source : www.politico.eu
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