Vladimir Putin has been warned of an “uprising” from Russian elites as his country heads to the polls in presidential elections.
Russian elections are taking place this weekend, and Putin is expected to win comfortably after prominent opposition figures were barred from running or mysteriously lost their lives in recent weeks.
Alexei Navalny was announced dead by Russia’s prison service in February as the Kremlin claimed he had dropped to the ground after feeling unwell.
He was in prison on “extremism charges” and many believe Putin ordered Russian authorities to kill Navalny.
Boris Nadezhdin, an anti-war figure in Russia, was barred from running in the vote.
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While Putin is unlikely to be challenged through democratic means, a former Russian diplomat has warned that elites in Moscow could launch an “uprising” if Russia suffers defeat in Ukraine.
Boris Bondarev told Sky News Russian troops being defeated “may provoke an uprising within Vladimir Putin’s elite.”
He added: “The most acceptable scenario for the world would be that his troops are defeated in Ukraine, with massive Western assistance of course.
“This may provoke an uprising within Putin’s elite and they will see Putin is dragging them into an abyss.
“Only then can they turn against him because right now they see it is better for them to stick with him because his victory may be still achievable.
“For now they don’t have incentive to do something against him.”
After the death of Navalny, his supporters are aiming to send a message this weekend as Russians vote in the election.
They are planning a Noon Against Putin campaign in which Russians who oppose Putin will demonstrate at polling stations at noon.
The campaign website says: “We want this dark time to end. We want a clear, normal future…But we, citizens of our country, with our pain and our hope, are not noticeable either to the authorities or to each other.
“AT NOON on Sunday, March 17, the last day of voting, when we come to the polling stations, we will show others and see for ourselves that there are many of us . We can become a force that cannot be hidden behind drawn percentages.”
Maxim Reznik, an opposition politician from whom Navalny adopted the “Noon Against Putin” plan, told Politico this week that the Navalny is still causing “maximum damage” to Putin.
