This elected Russian official asserts that the elites “want to get rid of” Putin, but “do not yet know how”.

Dmitriy Beluga emphasized that the popularity of the Russian president is at its lowest among Russia’s local officials, while the conflict is bogged down in the quagmire against Ukraine. So much so that the fall of Putin is considered.

Vladimir Putin overthrown by his supporters? According to an elected Russian local official, the tide is turning toward the president, who has been in power since the beginning of the 2000s. So much so that the Russian elite now wants to “get rid of” him, tired of his painless presidency. a challenge.

“For people to be able to change anything (in Russia), it takes a long time and the elite will have to decide to get rid of Putin,” confirms BFMTV Dmitry Beluga, St Petersburg local elected official.

“I think the elites really want it, and indeed the whole world wants it. But the elites in Russia do not yet understand how to do it,” says the man living in exile in Georgia.

Putin’s political elite support waning

Dmitriy Beluga asserts that Russian officials are currently experiencing a form of fatigue with the undivided power imposed by Vladimir Putin.

“In Russia, any protest and any disagreement with the official line are severely suppressed,” he explains.

As a result, “the support of Vladimir Putin’s political elites is very low” at the moment, he believes.

Disagreements growing

At the head of the country since 2000, apart from two brackets as prime minister between 2008 and 2012, Vladimir Putin rules Russia with an iron fist.

But seven months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and while many Russians are squabbling about launching a massive mobilization campaign, Vladimir Putin sees himself vulnerable.

Even many local elected officials, who are usually loyal to the Kremlin, have publicly expressed skepticism in recent weeks about the conflict against Ukraine, given the successes of Kyiv’s forces.

Last September, Dmitry Balyoga had already accused Vladimir Putin of “high treason.” He had felt he was “destroying” the Russian army and its economy in the struggle against Ukraine and called for his dismissal.