Vladimir Putin’s replacements are waiting in the wings as Kremlin rivalries and Ukraine war setbacks throw the Russian despot’s future into question. From a millionaire farmer who believes Stalin was Russia’s “greatest leader” of all time to an Ultra-Orthodox leader whose militia is known to patrol Moscow streets for the “enemies of faith”, meet the rogue’s gallery of potential replacements to Putin.
Among the top contenders to take over the reins should Putin be ousted or resign is the Russian President’s long-term sidekick, Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev has held the post before, stepping up in 2008 when Putin reached his term limit as president, though the latter was seen to remain the real power behind the throne.
Despite once being hailed as a potential liberal reformer, Medvedev appears now to be one of the Kremlin’s most ardent hawks on the issue of Ukraine, the West and NATO.
Since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the 57-year-old has looked to portray himself as an ardent Russian nationalist. This has seen Medvedev make increasingly bombastic public statements threatening WWIII and the nuclear armageddon of the West does not back down.
Also in the running to replace Putin, is Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
As Prime Minister Mishustin would assume the presidential duties should Putin’s rumoured ill-health prove to be the Russian leader’s downfall.
An unknown technocrat who enjoyed a meteoric political rise, financial scandals have dogged Mishustin’s career with the official believed to be sitting on a hidden property empire worth millions.
Mishustin is said to be the owner of a massive 10,000-square-foot mansion situated on a 60,000-square-foot plot of land in Moscow’s prestigious Rublyovka district, known for being one of the city’s most affluent and pricey areas.
When put up for sale, homes of comparable size in the area are regularly offered for around £7.6 million.
While Medvedev and Mishustin can be considered Kremlin insiders, Russia’s poor economic performance and underwhelming military showing in Ukraine could encourage a number of politicians to throw their ring into the hat.
Among them are populist leftwingers such as Pavel Grudinin, a wealthy farmer who has been likened to Russia’s Donald Trump for his populist rhetoric and brash businessman public persona.
Grudinin has already declared is intent to run again in 2024 under the banner of the Russian Communist Party.
If elected, he has pledged to disband the State Duma and reclaim illegally obtained profits through nationalization.
Grudinin is likely to be joined by Maxim Suraykin, the leader of the Communists of Russia party.
Suraykin’s presidential program, “Ten Stalinist Strikes on Capitalism,” aims to restore the Soviet Union and establish a unified “Eurasian Union”, while re-establishing military treaties with the likes of Venezuela and North Korea to form a defensive alliance of anti-imperialist states.
A number of figures from Russia’s politically active far-right are also tipped to run for the presidency in 2024.
Among their number is Ivan Otrakovsky the head of Holy Rus, a Russian Orthodox organisation which is known for organising patrols around Moscow on the lookout for anyone the group deems to be “blasphemers” or “enemies of the faith”.
Otrakovsky personal brand of militant Russian Orthodoxy could prove a powerful draw in Russian current political climate with the Kremlin’s propaganda eager to present the war in Ukraine as a “Holy War.”
Whether they come from inside the Kremlin or out, from the left or the fight, the cast of contenders to replace Putin could spell more trouble ahead for Russia.
