Russian nationalists could see Putin replaced by 'more ruthless' new leader expert fears

dailystar.co.uk:

Vladimir Putin could be pushed out by ‘nationalists’ who could replace him with someone equally or more ‘ruthless’, a Russian politics expert has explained.Dr Paul Flenley, senior lecturer in international politics at the University of Portsmouth, explained that the Russian president could be facing challenges from a number of different factions – including war-hungry nationalist groups and frustrated regional leaders.To make things worse, Dr Flenley explained that Putin has become increasingly “isolated”, partly due to Covid.

Meanwhile, more Russian leaders are getting frustrated by how poorly the war in Ukraine has been going. READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE 'Frightened' Putin 'getting closer to launching nuclear strike' warns ex-RAF chief He reckoned that nationalist players in the Russian political set-up could in theory get annoyed at how badly the war in Ukraine is going and look for a change.“If he's not being resolute enough, it could be that they might decide on a leader who's more effective, someone like [Nikolai] Patrushev, who has the same nationalist rhetoric as Putin.”This might sound like an appealing option for all hoping the war in Ukraine can come to a peaceful end, but Dr Flenley warned this might not be as good as it sounds.“It could be that people will turn against Putin himself, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get the kind of nice liberal alternative who will bring a resolution to the war.“It could be you'll have somebody who wants an even more ruthless conduct of a military campaign.”But it isn’t only from nationalist powerful elites that Putin could be facing challenges.