Vladimir Putin has many rumoured successors but the position could go to his long-time ally

For months Russian President Vladimir Putinwas subject to speculations about his health.

As a result, various reports in the past months have entertained rumours about who would replace Putin in case he must step down.

Nikolai Patrushev

In July 2022, Britain's former intelligence chief, Richard Dearlove, says 'almost certainly' Nikolai Patrushev will replace Vladimir Putin if he falls ill, Business Insider reports.

Patrushev is the currently the Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

Dearlove, the ex-MI6 chief, came across as rather confident on his podcast 'One Decision' when he named Patrushev as the likely successor. He said:

I'm almost certain it would Patrushev.

Read more: Vladimir Putin could be losing close military ally in Russia as alleged feud escalates

Vladimir Putin's shadow rival

In the same month, The Sun reported that Patrushev was the only person who was trusted by Vladimir Putin while breaking the news about an assassination attempt on the politician.

He was also described by the publication as a Putin shadow rival who will one day replace him.

Today, Patrushev is alive and has recently been quite vocal about the Ukraine situation. According to Euractiv, in January 2023 Patrushev accused the West of wanting to destroy Russia. He said:

'[the West aimed to] pull Russia apart, and eventually, just erase it from the political map of the world'.

Read more:

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Vladimir Putin's many rumoured successors

While Nikolai Patrushev has been seen as one of the leading contenders for Vladimir Putin's position, there have been rumours about many other potential successors—including his Patrushev's own son Dmitry Patrushev.

There is also speculation that Vladimir Putin's alleged chef and leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, may be eyeing the position as well.

Sources used:

-BusinessInsider: ‘Nikolai Patrushev — a longtime Putin ally — would 'almost certainly' replace Putin if he falls ill, predicts former British intelligence chief’

-TheSun: POISON PLOT Shadowy Putin rival ‘plotting to overthrow tyrant’ is ‘POISONED’ in assassination attempt, claims Kremlin insider
-Euractiv: ‘‘Land covered in corpses’ as Russia claims first big Ukraine gains in months’

-IlFoglio: ‘Nikolai Patrushev, the man who wants to be Putin’

- Politico: After Putin: 12 people ready to ruin Russia next