Colossal chaos in Moscow; Will they bring down Vladimir Putin?

“The scale of dissatisfaction is colossal,” Remeslo said in an interview with The Washington Post, his first interview with an international media organization since his release.

“I have the impression that part of the system is already beginning to work against Putin... It is essentially similar to what happened at the end of the Soviet Union, when people hated the (Communist) Party and did everything to bring it down. Putin’s Russia will follow the same path as the Soviet Union. Everything is repeating itself,” he continued.

The Washington Post reports that in recent weeks Putin’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to data from the state polling agency VTsIOM.

Kremlin observers and analysts say the criticism is part of an internal struggle between a faction within the Russian presidential administration led by Remeslo’s former boss, Sergei Kiriyenko — the technocratic first deputy chief of staff overseeing Russia’s political apparatus — and the Federal Security Service (FSB), where Putin built his career.

Security services are believed to be behind internet access restrictions, fearing it could be used to target Putin and mobilize anti-government opposition. However, some of Putin’s political advisers reportedly see the restrictions as fueling anti-government anger in Russia’s highly digitalized society.

“There is a very big power struggle underway,” Remeslo said, noting that he remains in contact with some former allies within Russia’s power structures.

“The FSB and the administration are in major conflict”

Remeslo was once part of the Kremlin’s team of propagandists who targeted Russian opposition figures, including the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Remeslo used his legal background to testify against opposition figures in court and smear them online.

In an interview last week with Ksenia Sobchak — a television star and daughter of Putin’s former political mentor, former St. Petersburg mayor Anatoly Sobchak — Remeslo said he paid a pensioner to file a lawsuit against Navalny, claiming the man had donated to Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The allegations were part of the case that resulted in Navalny being sentenced to nine years in prison in March 2022.

Navalny was serving that sentence in a remote Arctic penal colony when he died in February 2024 — allegedly killed by poisoning, according to Western governments.

Remeslo said he now regrets his role in the Kremlin’s persecution of Navalny and wants to make amends by publicly speaking out against Putin, hoping that other prominent figures will join him in opposing what he described as an increasingly repressive regime.

“I realized this is not the president I voted for. This is not a person who is brave or bold,” Remeslo said. “This is a completely different person who is afraid of a real opponent who poses a threat.”

Remeslo said he believes that around half of the Kremlin administration shares his views, including his former boss, Sergei Kiriyenko, as well as some senior officials within Russia’s security services and Ministry of Defense, whom he described as more progressive than those carrying out the repression.

“There are good people within the administration,” Remeslo said.

“They mock Putin and say he is very primitive and doing everything to drive the country into the abyss. Of course, they are afraid to say this publicly, because they would be imprisoned and all their property confiscated,” he added.

A report by European intelligence services singled out Sergei Shoigu, the former defense minister who now serves as secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, as a particular concern for the Kremlin because he has retained “significant influence within the military command” and is “linked to the risk of a coup attempt.”

The report did not provide evidence for the claims against Shoigu, a longtime ally of Putin.

“At some point, Putin will be brought down by his own inner circle once he no longer fully suits their interests,” Remeslo said. “That is the outcome waiting for him.”