Putin is ‘aging’: Russian ex-propagandist reveals when Russia is likely to ‘collapse’

Yevgeny Satanovsky, a former Russian state TV pundit, was fired recently over comments he made about two foreign ministry officials. Satanovsky, who is also the president of the Middle East Institute in Moscow, has now appeared in a recent video recording where he explains when he thinks Russia is likely to ‘collapse’.

Satanovsky, who regularly appeared in Kremlin mouthpiece Vladimir Solovyov’s live TV channel, was disgraced after claiming that Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova is a ‘heavy-drinking’ antisemite and labelling Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov a ‘hopeless drunkard’. Now, he has revealed when Russia will face ‘hour X’, according to his predictions.

When Satanovsky predicts Russia will ‘collapse’

In the video, Satanovsky said:

The opportunity of collapse will be somewhere in the 2030s, because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin isn't permanent; he's aging.

As always, strong leaders are followed by weak ones, and Putin is very strong in terms of holding power—though what I think about how he's running the country is a separate topic.

Satanovsky did not hold back - he even went on to claim that Putin will find a weaker leader to replace him:

He'll put some small, weak s*** in his place. [Former Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev was an example.

The Russian constitution barred Putin from serving a third consecutive term in 2008, so Medvedev served as the Russian president between 2008 and 2012. Putin, of course, did not stray far: during this time, he served as prime minister, and returned to presidency as soon as he could. In 2020, Putin changed the constitution so he would never have to leave the position again.

Putin’s invincible image is shattering

Vladimir Putin has remained a widely popular president among the Russian public, despite his war against Ukraine draining the country's resources. This could be due in large part to successful propaganda and Putin’s tendency to shift the blame for any war failures onto his generals.

However, his power was placed into question earlier this year when the Wagner Group raised an armed rebellion that got halfway to Moscow before it ended. Although the leader of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is believed to have died in a plane crash, the very fact that a mutiny was attempted has hurt Putin’s image as a loved leader.

Rumours around Putin’s health

Furthermore, rumours around his health have weakened his stance as a strong and brutal despot. There have been concerns about his hands, and footage of his most recent trip to China flared up new suspicions that he is using a body double.

During the coronavirus outbreak, the Russian President insisted on keeping a distance from others - something that was interpreted as a safety measure due to an existing health problem. Recently, the Russian Telegram channel General SVR went so far as to claim that the Russian President’s death is ‘imminent’ after a ‘sharp deterioration in his health.

Now, Satanovsky is suggesting that Putin’s rule could be over within the coming decade. The next thing we want to know is, who will replace him?

Read more:

⋙ Vladimir Putin: New calendar of Russian leader sparks health concerns for this bizarre reason

⋙ Putin humiliated in front of his ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Beijing

⋙ Vladimir Putin’s blunt warning for the US: ‘It will be a completely different war’

Sources used:

Newsweek: Fired Russian Pundit Predicts When His Country Could 'Collapse'

Ukrainetoday.org: Putin is an old man, and Medvedev is shit: ex-propagandist Solovyov predicted the collapse of Russia (video)