Russia economy 'breaking apart' and army 'doesn't trust' Putin as Kremlin faces backlash

By John Varga, World News Reporter

Putin is facing a growing nationalist backlash (Image: Getty)

Russia is facing political upheaval as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse and its war in Ukraine falters, according to a leading nationalist figure. Russian nationalists have been some of the biggest supporters of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

Some, like Aleksandr Dugin, have even argued that the destruction of Ukraine is essential to Russia's continued existence. In his 1997 book "The Geopolitical Future of Russia", he made his views very clear, writing: "The existence of Ukraine within its current borders, and with its current status as a 'sovereign state,' is tantamount to delivering a monstrous blow to Russia’s geopolitical security." However, a prominent Russian nationalist and journalist has begun to criticise Putin and his war in Ukraine.

Maxim Kalashnikov is a prominent Russian nationalist (Image: X social media)

Vladimir Alexandrovich Kucherenko - better known by his pen name Maxim Kalashnikov - is a well-known Russian writer and nationalist "agitator".

Recently he urged Putin to stop the war in Ukraine otherwise Russia could soon be left without an army. Now the political activist has gone further, issuing dire warnings of economic and political armageddon that could lead to a new Russian revolution.

He argues in his blog the country's economy is at its "limit" and time is running out for Putin's regime.

"Of course, (Aleksandr) Dugin and (Vladimir) Medinsky can babble about being ready to fight for another 10 or 20 years, but that’s pure nonsense. We don’t have that much time," he said.

"I also hear the delusional statements that soon we will start a war with Europe, that we’ll begin a new nuclear arms race and spend 90 trillion rubles on arsenal modernisation. There is no chance of that. Our economy has not yet collapsed completely, but it is already breaking apart."

Kalashnikov points out that the war has stripped the country of £89 trillion that could have been spent on Russia's economic and social development.

He also notes that the Kremlin will have to spend tens of trillion of pounds on reconstruction in Ukraine, again depriving Russia of much needed funds.

Putin will also need to work out how to fund "the security services and state apparatus at least to pre-war levels, or how to avoid delays in pension payments.”

In a stark warning to The Kremlin, he concludes: "The Russian Federation faces a stormy political upheaval. Economically, the situation is the same as in the USSR in 1985, on the eve of ‘perestroika,’ while politically it resembles February 1917, when the Tsarist regime collapsed."

His comments come as a former pro-Russian governor of the occupied Donbas territories said the Kremlin's soldiers do not trust Putin.

"The Kremlin’s rating within the army is zero - there is no trust whatsoever," Pavel Gubarev said. "There is understanding of all the events that are taking place, but there is no trust."