Putin Transforming Into 'Second-Rate Dictator' — Former Speechwriter Anticipates Potential Military Coup

According to a column published by a Russian media outlet, a political consultant and ex-speechwriter to Russian President Vladimir Putin has written that Russian military generals are growing increasingly frustrated as their troops continue to suffer defeats in Ukraine.

In his column in Mozhem Obyasnit, Abbas Gallyamov said there is the possibility of a military coup in Russia, as Putin is starting to look like a "second-rate dictator." 

"It must be understood that the vast majority of commanders in the army of an authoritarian nation are not staunch supporters of the authorities, but run-of-the-mill opportunists," The Daily Beast quoted Gallyamov saying in the column. 

"As problems pile up in the country and the army that the authorities are unable to solve, Putin is more steadily transforming in people's eyes from a great strategist to an ordinary, second-rate dictator," Gallyamov added in the column.

"The longer the war drags on, the clearer its pointlessness becomes," he said.

Also Read: Putin Not 'A Subject Of Civilized People,' Says Ukraine's Zelenskyy As US Visit Ends: 'He's Destroying Our Life'

Earlier in January, geopolitical strategist Alp Sevimlisoy warned that Russia's faltering war in Ukraine has become a cause of concern for Putin, as many within the Kremlin wish to replace the president. 

Sevimlisoy said coups are forming within the government, planning to remove Putin from power.

Russia has named a new commander for its military forces for the second time in just three months, which was seen as a sign that the Ukraine campaign may be faltering. 

In the latest development in the war in Ukraine, Russia's defense ministry said that 14 people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on a hospital in occupied Luhansk on Saturday. 

Also on Saturday, three civilians were killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a Russian strike on the town of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk oblast. 

Photo: Global Panorama on flickr