Putins time running out as Russian secret service find presidential successor

President Vladimir Putin could be living on borrowed time as the Russian secret service allegedly pinpoint a presidential successor.

The Russian despot is having a hard time of holding onto power according to an expert speaking to the Daily Express, who believes the FSB is lining up a Putin successor.

Plans for the removal of Putin as president come as the Russian leader allegedly bumped off Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin last week in a plane crash which killed 10.

READ MORE: Putin's hold on power 'shakier than ever' after trying to 'humiliate' Wagner group

Putin blasted Western powers for claiming he had been involved in the death of his former pal, known as "Putin's chef", although the president is allegedly struggling to hold onto office.

Dr Yuri Felshtinsky believes the mutiny Prigozhin led back in June, which did not prove successful for the Wagner group, was the beginning of the end for Putin.

According to Dr Felshtinsky, the Federal Security Service was actively looking to replace the Russian president, with the "entire process" of future elections in their hands.

He said: "The FSB controls and rules Russia. The entire process of the Russian Presidential election and the election computer which calculates the vote is by law controlled by the FSB.

"In 2021, Russia passed a law allowing remote voting. It might be good in most countries but not for Russia."

• 

  North Korea fires ballistic missile just days after Kim Jong-un's rally cry

Expert Felshtinsky believes this could mean the FSB decides who becomes president at the next election, slated for March 2024.

The expert alleged FSB involvement "will lead to a situation where the FSB will have the ability to add votes of the people who didn't come to vote in order to choose their favourite candidate.

"My point is that it will be the FSB who choose the next president of Russia."

Whether the service chooses Putin as their man as they allegedly did in 2018 is yet to be seen, but change could be afoot should the role of Prime Minister "change to somebody else", as was the case in 1999 when Putin replaced Boris Yeltsin.

Dr Felshtinsky added: "If we see suddenly that the Prime Minister is changed to somebody else, let's say Nikolai Patrushev (the secretary of the Security Council of Russia), this will be an indication that they're making Patrushev the President."

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

Source: Read Full Article