Political Strategist: Putin Controls 20% Of Russia
- 16.01.2023, 9:10
The Kremlin head cannot give most of the orders.
Before the war against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin "controlled Russia by 80 per cent. Today, he controls Russia by 20 per cent".
Israeli political technologist Mikhail Sheitelman, who lives in Ukraine, voiced it in an interview with Dmitry Gordon, the founder of the publication GORDON.
"Today, he can only give orders that he is sure will be carried out. And he can't give most of the orders," Sheitelman said. - Why did the mobilization take so long? He wasn't sure it would work, that one would listen, that he'd be allowed to appear on television at all. But what if one didn't? If one had recorded it and wouldn't have shown it. And what would he do then? And there would be no mobilization".
The political strategist says that some of Putin's decrees are "published afterwards" - retroactively. For example, after the de-occupation of Kherson, the Russian president "did not speak at all" - "did not speak for a long time, and then some very timid, strange speeches of Putin began," Sheitelman notes.
" Do you know what the first speech Putin made after Kherson was about? He was awarding Melitopol and Mariupol the titles of cities of military glory for their opposition to the German fascists. I listened to it... (laughs). And I say: "Stop. Is this a priority right now? Is there anything more urgent?"... Later at night the Kremlin website publishes decrees awarding Melitopol and Mariupol - two different decrees - the high title of "City of Military Glory" for their victory over German fascism. And then I realized: "Well, of course, it's an entry from May 9. I mean, they recorded it by May 9, but did not show it, because they failed to take Mariupol by May 9," the political strategist stressed.
Sheitelman believes that this was done without Putin's participation.
"I think it wasn't Putin who said: "Show me like this." Those in the [Russian presidential] administration are there: "What? Where is Volodya? Volodya is in the pool. What are we going to do? What do we have? Well, there's one in the archives. Well let's show how he awards Mariupol". It is done without his decision. I believe it is done without him. And the number of such cases increases," the political strategist sums up.