Kathrine Frich
Powerful people usually know how to protect their wealth.
When a national leader starts making dangerous choices, billionaires typically find a way to step in.
Yet one of the most influential groups in the world is currently trapped in a cage of its own making.
A golden trap
The Russian ruling class is deeply frustrated. Former diplomat Boris Bondarev recently wrote an analysis for The Moscow Times explaining that the ongoing war is quietly draining the country.
Early hopes for a quick diplomatic fix have completely vanished. Many political insiders firmly believed the return of Donald Trump to the White House would force a comfortable peace deal.
That simply did not happen. The grinding conflict is stretching into its fifth year with no exit strategy in sight. Bondarev noted that massive military spending is only temporarily hiding severe long-term economic problems.
Paralyzed by fear
Observers might expect these angry billionaires to organize a sudden rebellion. Yet the rigid political system makes a coordinated uprising virtually impossible.
The state security service watches absolutely everyone. Top officials live in constant fear of hidden wiretaps, which destroys any basic trust among the ruling class.
Without trust, nobody can safely plan a political coup. Every whispered conversation carries a massive risk for the people involved.
The central node
Even if they could talk secretly, replacing the president presents a fatal structural problem. The entire government machine relies entirely on one single man.
Bondarev explained that the system is built on a fragile web. “The fundamental problem with this is that Putin’s regime isn’t limited to one man, but the networks of agreements and patronage that span out from him,” he wrote in The Moscow Times.
The expert compared the current situation to historical regimes where the leader is the sole source of legitimacy. “Remove that central node, and everything collapses,” he stated.
No way out
This means the elites have no safe way to remove the president, even if they desperately want to. A sudden change in leadership would instantly destroy their own wealth and influence.
A simple leadership swap will not fix the deep underlying aggression. The current regime relies heavily on constantly fighting foreign enemies just to survive.
Bondarev argued that Western nations must change their foreign strategy entirely and stop waiting for an internal rebellion. He concluded that “a strategy of controlled defeat for the Putin system is needed” to build a stable future.
Sources: The Moscow Times
