He also admitted that not everything is going as hoped but assures that everything will go as planned, even if the military operation carried out in Ukraine could be a long-term operation. But for his former speechwriter and adviser Abbas Gallyamov, there is indeed a plan B. This “Noah’s Ark” plan would have been confirmed to him by two Kremlin sources. “As the name suggests, it is about the search for a new homeland. The president’s entourage no longer excludes the possibility of losing the war, taking power away from them and leaving them soon,” he said. writes Gallyamov on Telegram. The country was not chosen at random because the primary criteria are that the exile destination does not extradite Russians and welcomes the elite with open arms. The operation has been discussed since late spring, when the Russian war machine began to work. If we thought that Vladimir Putin would set his sights on China, meetings China wants to avoid taking sides. “Besides,” adds Gallyamov, “they hate losers.”
The head of state oil company Rosneft, Igor Sechin, was tasked with drawing up the plans. Nicknamed “Darth Vader”, Igor Sechin has been Putin’s right-hand man for years. In addition, one of his team members recently quit to work full-time on “a fringe project”.
This plan B was also reported this week in the media Mozhem Obyasnit, owned by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a disgraced oligarch. If the latter is an opponent of the Russian president, he is no less well informed. It was already his media which had revealed, weeks before Putin’s announcement, that the Russian president was going to proceed with a partial mobilization.
To prepare for this headlong rush, the Kremlin is said to be busy buying many properties in Venezuela and carrying out all the formalities necessary to be able to settle and stay there. Other Russians occupying important positions could also choose exile in Venezuela, Argentina or Ecuador. For the elite, Venezuela remains the priority, and in particular Isla Margarita, a small paradise on earth with its fine sandy beaches and turquoise sea. Many properties have already passed into the hands of the Russians. Many of them have already made the trip, all the more easily since the Russian company Nordwind Airlines has launched a direct flight to the island since October 2.
For Putin, increasingly let down by those around him, and even openly criticized, the situation is becoming less and less tenable. The polls also show increasingly weak support for his project and for the conflict in Ukraine. His popularity is at an all-time low and further setbacks could force him to put his plan B into action.