Vladimir Putin’s paranoiac fear of being assassinated means he rarely goes to his Kremlin office and his behaviour has become similar to that of Adolf Hitler in 1945, it is claimed.
While the Russian leader has always been extremely security conscious, the invasion of Ukraine has made him very paranoid of an attempt to topple him, says Professor Mark Galeotti.
No longer does Putin regularly head to the Kremlin and his office as he would rather now work from the mansion on his summer estate, Novo-Ogaryovo, west of Moscow, the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies professor told the Daily Mail.
Prof Galeotti said: "He has his staff, his bodyguards, his team of food tasters and so on, but for months senior ministers, advisers and aides with whom he would once frequently consult, have been kept at a distance. The pandemic facilitated this — but he shows no sign of wanting to change the status quo.”
And it is a similar situation to that of Hitler as WW2 headed towards its end with Allied forces moving in on Berlin.
"It is impossible not to be reminded of Adolf Hitler’s last days, when a war he started was also going against him. Of course, Putin’s enemies are not at the gates of Moscow as Hitler’s were in Berlin, yet there are parallels in both leaders’ refusal to listen to counsel, and their insistence on micro-managing military manoeuvres despite not having the experience to do so," Prof Galeotti told the Daily Mail.
Putin's insecurities mean that he doesn’t trust the internet and so when he is being briefed he prefers paper documents. While a typical day would see him receive reports from the military, followed by those from the SFV intelligence service giving him updates on world events.
Then he would get a report from the FSB, the federal security service, on events in Russia, and finally he would be briefed about what is happening with the Russian oligarchs.
Prof Galeotti tells how Putin now prefers to speak to people by video call rather than face to face which he puts down to his ability to cut them off when he doesn’t like what they are saying.
He gave the recent example of when he cut off the head of Russia’s Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina when she said the economy was heading for the “sewers”.
The general impression is of someone who is becoming increasingly remote.
"Dedicated Kremlin-watchers believe that Putin is spending much of his time alone, brooding on the war and thinking about strategy on the ground — which is alarming for Russia because history tells us that this is the exact opposite of what he should be doing," said Prof Galeotti.
"Putin has absolutely no meaningful military experience, despite (like many politicians) being unable to pass a tank or a fighter plane without pausing for a photo-op."
And Putin’s attempts now to direct the Russian army are like that of Hitler in WW2: “Right up to the end, in his bunker below the streets of Berlin, he was micro-managing his troops.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have gone far from according to plan with heavy military losses - which Prof Galeotti blames on Putin, he says that the army is not “useless” but have been badly used.
The contrast between the old swashbuckling Putin and the frail leader at the Victory Day celebrations also suggests that he is likely to be ill.
And while once an excellent people’s person in understanding what adversaries were thinking, he is now said to appear emotional and angry which leaves a very uncertain picture of what will happen in Ukraine and Putin's own future.
