Putin no longer informs ministers of his plans, but puts them before done deals - media

FRIDAY, 7 OCTOBER 2022, 10:29

Vladimir Putin no longer consults with ministers about the consequences of his decisions and does not inform them about his plans; there has been no respect for the President for several years now - only fear".

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet, citing a source close to the Kremlin and the government of the Russian Federation

Quote from source close to the government: "Until recently, the deputy prime ministers and ministers worked for the President, at least serving as a tool like Google. [Putin] voiced to them the scenarios that he considered to be likely and asked: ‘And if we do this, what consequences should we expect? And if so, what will happen then?’ Now that's gone."

Details: A source close to the government claimed: "There is a lot of fear of him. But this is fear without respect. There has been no respect (for Putin — ed.) for a couple of years". Two more sources close to the government and one source close to the Kremlin reported such sentiments among the Cabinet of Ministers.

In particular, the attitude towards the Russian President has deteriorated sharply after the retirement age was raised in 2018. The sources stated that the President gradually stopped informing ministers about his plans for the near or distant future. He makes all key decisions after a short conversation with his "inner circle". According to Meduza, some reports state that the latter consists of the heads of special services and law enforcement agencies. For several years now, "everything has been falling on my head without warning", added one of the sources.

The high-ranking source stated that Putin can unexpectedly announce new policies, which is followed by a "feverish search" for money to implement his plans. Only a few years ago, Putin took the opposite approach: first he listened to proposals from departments, then he chose what, in his opinion, was the best option.

Ministers do not dare to argue with him even about the most "unexpected" decisions, due to fear: "When Ulyukayev was arrested, we all understood everything".

Reference: In September, the Moscow court placed Alexei Ulyukayev, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, under house arrest until mid-January on accusations of having accepted a bribe. His lawyer stated that the Minister does not admit guilt and considers the arrest to have been a provocation.

Details: Sources close to the government added that Putin's fear and reluctance to hear from subordinates about problems is leading officials to seriously embellish the reality in their  reports to the President, including not reporting the effects of sanctions on the economy.

Quote from source close to the Kremlin: "Every 48 hours, some shit happens, nobody really understands anything. Everything comes down on those responsible for performing the tasks at the last moment.

He does not know how to lose. What is more, he cannot admit that he is losing."

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