Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, is confident that Russia will not change with the departure of President Vladimir Putin. He stated this in an interview with the Radio Liberty project "Donbas.Realii".
"Without Putin, Russia will be the same as it was with Putin. It is a big mistake to think that this is Putin, and that's all. Remove Putin - and something will be different. You need to have an idea of history. Nothing will change there, it is Asian the country... The name of the person who leads Russia, Muscovy as it is, does not matter. It will never be democratic, because it is nonsense. Democratic Russia is, I don't know, like hot beer," he declared .
According to Danilov, Russia will not be imperial in the future, "it will be a weak country."
"A country that will be a donor of supplying only resources, Russia will not have any modern technologies, because it is impossible. In order for you to have technologies, you must have appropriate behavior and be part of the circle of countries that live by certain rules. You know that in Muscovy decided that their domestic legislation prevails over any international legislation. This is the first reason why no one will continue to hold certain conversations, conduct business, etc. with them," said the NSDC secretary.
We will remind that Putin has held the post of President of Russia since 2000, with a break in 2008-2012, when he was the head of the government. In 2020, changes were made to the constitution of the Russian Federation, which allow Putin to run again for the position of the head of the Kremlin in 2024. He has repeatedly stated that he has not yet decided whether he will run for a new term.
Some experts, for example, the executive director of the Ukrainian Future Institute Vadym Denysenko, predict that as a result of military failures in Ukraine, Putin may lose power.
A number of analysts suggest that a military defeat in Ukraine could lead to a change of power in Russia. The reviewer of the NV website, the presenter of "Radio NV" Ivan Yakovina believes that Putin is already losing power and is becoming a "terrible burden" even for his entourage.
Russian political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky said that, according to various sources, the war in Ukraine is causing panic among the elite. "They would like to jump out and jump off. But it is no longer possible to jump out and jump off," he said.
According to Russian journalist Yulia Latynina, Putin may face the prospect of threats to his power in Russia amid a botched invasion of Ukraine.
Russian publicist and TV presenter Oleksandr Nevzorov, who received Ukrainian citizenship, is convinced that Putin's entourage is looking for an opportunity to deal with him, "but it is very difficult."
Among the possible successors of Putin, analysts name in particular the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Mykola Patrushev.
